Overview of Daniel Chapter Nine
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Thursday September 12, 2013
Daniel: Overview of Daniel Chapter Nine
Lesson # 255
Please turn in your Bibles to Daniel 9:1.
Daniel chapter 9 speaks of Israel’s history from the time of Ezra and Nehemiah to the establishment of the kingdom of heaven on earth through the Second Advent of Jesus Christ.
It records the third of four great prophetic revelations that Daniel received from God during the first year of Darius, the son of Ahasuerus in 539 B.C., which is called by students of prophecy, “The Seventy Weeks of Daniel.”
This prophecy of Daniel’s took place in the first year of the reign of Darius the Mede, in 538 B.C., when Daniel was between 85 and 90 years of age, 66 years after he had been exiled to Babylon under Nebuchadnezzar in 606 B.C.
In Daniel 9:1-2, Daniel gives us his circumstances when he received from the angel Gabriel the prophecy of the Seventy Weeks and tells the reader that he was studying Jeremiah’s prophecy of Jerusalem’s restoration which is recorded in Jeremiah 25:11-12 and 29:10-14.
Therefore, in 538 B.C. Daniel was reading this prophecy and knew that the 70 years of the Babylonian Captivity would end within 2 years in 536 B.C.
Daniel 9:1 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of Median descent, who was made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans— 2 in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, observed in the books the number of the years which was revealed as the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet for the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years. (NASB95)
Daniel 9:3-14 records Daniel’s prayer of confession on behalf of the nation of Israel which is in response to Jeremiah’s prophecy of the restoration of the Jewish exiles to Jerusalem from Babylon.
Daniel 9:3 So I gave my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes. 4 I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed and said, “Alas, O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, 5 we have sinned, committed iniquity, acted wickedly and rebelled, even turning aside from Your commandments and ordinances. 6 Moreover, we have not listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, our princes, our fathers and all the people of the land. 7 Righteousness belongs to You, O Lord, but to us open shame, as it is this day—to the men of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, those who are nearby and those who are far away in all the countries to which You have driven them, because of their unfaithful deeds which they have committed against You. 8 Open shame belongs to us, O Lord, to our kings, our princes and our fathers, because we have sinned against You. 9 “To the Lord our God belong compassion and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against Him; 10 nor have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in His teachings which He set before us through His servants the prophets. 11 Indeed all Israel has transgressed Your law and turned aside, not obeying Your voice; so the curse has been poured out on us, along with the oath which is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, for we have sinned against Him. 12 Thus He has confirmed His words which He had spoken against us and against our rulers who ruled us, to bring on us great calamity; for under the whole heaven there has not been done anything like what was done to Jerusalem. 13 As it is written in the law of Moses, all this calamity has come on us; yet we have not sought the favor of the LORD our God by turning from our iniquity and giving attention to Your truth. 14 Therefore the LORD has kept the calamity in store and brought it on us; for the LORD our God is righteous with respect to all His deeds which He has done, but we have not obeyed His voice.” (NASB95)
In Daniel 9:15-19, we have Daniel petitioning God to restore the Jewish exiles to the land of Israel.
Daniel 9:15 “And now, O Lord our God, who have brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand and have made a name for Yourself, as it is this day—we have sinned, we have been wicked. 16 “O Lord, in accordance with all Your righteous acts, let now Your anger and Your wrath turn away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain; for because of our sins and the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people have become a reproach to all those around us. 17 “So now, our God, listen to the prayer of Your servant and to his supplications, and for Your sake, O Lord, let Your face shine on Your desolate sanctuary. 18 “O my God, incline Your ear and hear! Open Your eyes and see our desolations and the city which is called by Your name; for we are not presenting our supplications before You on account of any merits of our own, but on account of Your great compassion. 19 “O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and take action! For Your own sake, O my God, do not delay, because Your city and Your people are called by Your name.” (NASB95)
Daniel 9:20-23 records God’s response to Daniel’s prayer for the restoration of the Jewish people to their land.
Daniel 9:20 Now while I was speaking and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God in behalf of the holy mountain of my God, 21 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. 22 He gave me instruction and talked with me and said, “O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you insight with understanding. 23 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.” (NASB95)
In Daniel 9:24-27, the elect angel Gabriel communicates to Daniel the prophetic future of the nation of Israel, which is called by expositors of the Bible “The Seventy Weeks of Daniel.”
Daniel 9:24 “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.”
In the Hebrew text, the phrase “seventy weeks” literally reads, “seventy sevens,” which refers to years and “not” days as clearly indicated through a comparison of Scripture with Scripture.
First of all, as we noted earlier, Daniel was reading Jeremiah’s prophecy regarding Israel’s Babylonian exile, which was to last 70 years (cf. Jeremiah 25:11-12; 29:10-14).
Furthermore, 2 Chronicles 36:21 speaks of Jeremiah’s prophecy concerning the Babylonian exile and it indicates quite clearly that the exile would last 70 years.
These 70 weeks in Daniel 9:24 cannot possibly be 70 weeks in the ordinary, literal sense or 490 days for the number has an obvious relation to the 70 years of Jeremiah’s prophecy in Jeremiah 25:11 and 2 Chronicles 36:21.
Finally, the context clearly indicates that Daniel is referring to years and not days since Daniel 9:2 indicates that Jeremiah’s prophecy of Israel’s Babylonian captivity would be 70 years.
The 70 years of captivity were the specific penalty for violating 70 sabbatic years, which would be 70 sevens, a total of 70 years.
Seven days are in one week and every seventh year was a Sabbath rest and seventy sevens brought them to the year of Jubilee which is noted in Leviticus 25:8-12.
The provisions for the land’s Sabbath rest are recorded in detail in Leviticus 25:2-4, 26:32-35, 43 but in those 490 years, Israel had violated exactly 70 sabbatic years so they would go into captivity for 70 years to make amends.
The 490 could not designate days (about 1 1/3 years) for that would not be enough time for the events prophesied by Daniel 9:24-27 to occur and the same is true of 490 weeks of seven days each (i.e. 3,430 days, about 9 ½ years).
Also if days were intended one would expect Daniel to have added the phrase “of days” after “70 sevens” for in Daniel 10:2-3 he wrote literally, “three sevens of days”.
Also, it is important to understand that the length of a prophetic year was “not” 365 days but rather 360 days since the solar year, which we live by, of 365.25 days was unknown to the nations in the Old Testament but the Jewish year of biblical times was lunar-solar and had only 360 days.
This is borne out in Revelation in John’s vision of the Great Tribulation period since it describes the last 3 ½ years as precisely 1260 days (Rev. 12:6) “a time, times and half a time” where “time” in Hebrew stands for a year of 360 days (verse 14) and “forty-two months” of 30 days each (13:5).
Therefore, the “seventy weeks of Daniel” refer to 490 biblical years of 360 days.
The phrase “your people” indicates that the prophecy deals specifically with the history of the nation of Israel and the city of Jerusalem and not with world history or church history.
“To finish the transgression” refers to the nation of Israel’s apostasy and sin and wandering over the face of the earth will be brought to its consummation within the seventy-sevens or 490 prophetic years at the Second Advent of Christ, on the Day of Atonement.
“To bring an end of sin” refers to bringing sin into judgment at the cross, and extending forgiveness for sins already committed through faith in the coming Redeemer, the Messiah.
“To make an atonement for iniquity” refers to the Cross of Christ as it affects the restoration of the nation of Israel at the Second Advent of Christ (See Zechariah 12:10).
In the Hebrew text, the phrase “to bring in everlasting righteousness” literally means “to cause to bring in everlasting righteousness” and refers to the millennial reign which will be characterized by righteousness.
The phrase “to seal up vision and prophecy” refers to the fact that all that God promised to Israel throughout her history by means of the prophets will be fulfilled during Christ’s millennial reign.
The sixth divine objective “to anoint the Most Holy Place” refers to the dedication of the most holy place in the millennial temple which is described in detail in Ezekiel 41-46.
Daniel 9:25 “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.”
“The issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem” was the fourth of four decrees made by Persian rulers in reference to the Jews: (1) Cyrus’ decree in 538 B.C. (2 Chronicles 36:22-23; Ezra 1:1-4; 5:13). (2) Darius’ I decree in 520 B.C. (Ezra 6:1; 6-12). (3) Artaxerxes Longimanus’ decree in 458 B.C. (Ezra 7:11-26). (4) Artaxerxes Longimanus’ decree in 444 B.C. (Nehemiah 2:1-8).
The first three decrees say nothing about the rebuilding of the city of Jerusalem itself since the first two decrees pertain to the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem and the third relates to finances for animal sacrifices at the temple but the fourth decree granted the Jews permission to rebuild Jerusalem’s city walls.
The first period of 49 years refers to the rebuilding of Jerusalem (Neh. 2:12-15) and the 62 “sevens” or 434 years extend up to the introduction of Jesus as the Messiah to the nation of Israel (“until the Messiah, the Prince”), which was concluded on the day of our Lord’s Triumphal entry into Jerusalem just before He was crucified (“cut off).”
Daniel 9:26 “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.”
The statement “after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off” refers to the crucifixion of Christ.
“The people” refers to the Romans who under the general Titus destroyed the city of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. and “the prince who is to come” refers to the Antichrist who will make a seven year treaty with Israel to begin Daniel’s seventieth week.
The church age takes place between Daniel 9:26 and 27 and was a “mystery” (Eph. 3:9) meaning it was not known to Old Testament prophets such as Daniel.
God has temporarily set aside Israel because of her rejection of Jesus Christ as Messiah (Rom. 9-11) in order to form the church and to fulfill the “times of the Gentiles.”
Daniel 9:27 “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.”
The statement “he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week” refers to antichrist making a covenant with Israel during the Daniel’s seventieth week (See 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4).
The expression “firm covenant” means that Antichrist will not renew an existing treaty but will establish an original one that contains strong and firm guarantees with the Israeli leadership ensuring Israel’s security.
“The many” does “not” mean that Antichrist will make this covenant “with all” since the definite article in the Hebrew text that precedes the adjective rav (br^) (rav), converts the adjective into a noun and means, “the leaders” which is a reference to the military and political leadership of the nation of Israel at that time.
“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,” refers to the antichrist stopping the Levitical sacrifices that will be reestablished in the rebuilt temple in Jerusalem in the middle of Daniel’s seventieth week.
Three and a half years into the treaty, he will break it and desecrate the rebuilt Jewish temple and declare himself world-ruler and God and will demand to be worshipped as God.
The Russian led invasion of Israel will cause the Antichrist to break his treaty with Israel (Ezekiel 38-39) and occupy Israel according to Daniel 11:41 (cf. Matthew 24:15-16; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-13).
In Daniel 9:27, the phrase “even until a complete destruction, one (Antichrist) that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate” refers to the destruction of Antichrist at the Second Advent of Christ when he will be thrown into the lake of fire (See Revelation 19:20; Daniel 7:11, 26).
Therefore, we can see that Daniel’s seventieth week is a 7-year period that extends from Antichrist’s peace treaty with Israel after the rapture of the church to the Second Advent of Christ and is concerned with the nation of Israel exclusively and will be the worst period in all of Israel’s and the world’s history.
This 7-year period is divided into two three and a half year periods with the first three and a half years characterized as a cold war (Mt. 24:6) whereas the last three and a half years are characterized as a hot war (Mt. 24:21-22) and will end with the Second Advent of Jesus Christ (Dan. 2:44-45; Zech. 14; Mt. 24:29-31; Rev. 1:7; 19:11-21).
So we can see that the first seven weeks and the sixty-two weeks that followed it ran consecutively with no time between them and totaled 483 years and extended from March 5, 444 B.C to March 30, 33 A.D.
In order to understand how 444 B.C. to A.D. 33 can equal 483 years, we must understand that the Jewish calendar had 360 days per year, thus 483 years times 360 days equals 173,880 days.
The Gregorian Calendar contains 365 days a year and under this 444 B.C. to A.D. 33 would be 476 years since only one year expired between 1 B.C. and A.D. 1.
A total of 476 years divided by four (a leap year every four years) gives 119 additional days but three days must be subtracted from 119 because centennial years are not leap years, though every 400th years is a leap year.
Thus, 476 years times 365 days equals 173,740 days and if we add 116 days in leap years and 24 days (March 5-30), we have 173,880 days.
Therefore, we can see that the seventy weeks of Daniel of 490 prophetic years are divided into three segments: (1) 7 “sevens” (49 years): The decree of Artaxerxes in 444 B.C. (Neh. 2:1-8) to the completion of the rebuilding of Jerusalem (Dan. 9:25). (2) 62 “sevens” (434 years): The completion of the rebuilding of Jerusalem to Christ’s Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem and crucifixion in 33 A.D. (Dan. 9:25-26) (3) 1 “seven” (7 years): Tribulation period (Dan. 9:27).