Passage: Daniel 9:20-27
Intro: Time is a very mysterious thing to us
1. we are stuck in it, moment by moment, but dream of being outside it, to move back and forth in it.
PP “The Time Machine”
PP “Back to the Future”
2. hard for us to conceive of anyone being outside of time, being in charge of events with full knowledge, instead of just reacting as things happen.
3. this is our God, and while we are justifiably amazed at the pinpoint accuracy of prophecies such as this one, it is not surprising when we consider God’s nature.
4. of course there will always be those who seek to explain these prophecies in some more human way.
5. and perhaps no passage in Scripture has more alternatives interpretations than this one.
6. let’s stick with the text, bring in clarifying Scripture, find out what God is telling Daniel, and us!
I. Visions and Angels!!
1. Daniel has already described 4 dreams, one “writing on the wall”
2. there have been angelic interpreters along the way.
3. this is how God does it! Visions and interpreting angels!
4. throughout Scripture, angels are very often the messengers of God, as they are in Daniel and in Revelation.
5. so when an angel speaks, he is delivering the word of God.
6. don’t worship them! Just listen to what they say as recorded in God’s Word.
7. and here in v21, the angel Gabriel comes “in swift flight” (cool) as the messenger sent by God in response to Daniels prayer. V23
8. just like angel in Revelation, sent to give insight and understanding, to explain.
Il) like a tour guide when you are in an unfamiliar place, like a cave. Full of questions.
9. and this tour is all about time!
10. but also specifically focused on the Jews, v24. “your people and your city”
II. God’s Specific Goals in a Clear Time Frame
1. this is the stuff that charts are made of
2. “sevens” clearly refer to blocks of time, blocks of seven years.
3. so there are three blocks mentioned, 7x7=49, 62x7=434, 1x7=7. Total 490 years
4. that is the time frame for God to accomplish some goals.
5. both time and accomplishment of goals are equally important!
6. we have learned this in Revelation, that God has particular requirements He is fulfilling, and is not motivated by a calendar.
7. what are these goals?
PP v24, “finish transgression, put an end to sin, atone for wickedness, bring in everlasting righteousness, seal up vision and prophecy, anoint the most holy”
8. essentially, three have been done, three are still in the future.
PP finish transgression=rejection of Jesus. Put an end to sin=also completion of sinfulness, atone for wickedness=Christ’s death on cross
PP bring in righteousness=future Seal up vision=complete fulfillment of prophecy, anoint most holy place=heavenly temple, Jesus once- for=all sacrifice.
PP Hebrews 9:11-14
9. clear that last three must still be in the future, even after Antiochus or Titus in 70 A.D. and destruction of Jerusalem.
10. this is God’s big plan, and it has a start and an end in time.
III. When Did The Clock Start?
1. v25, starts when a decree is issued to restore and rebuild Jerusalem.
2. couple choices, because there were some decrees to restore parts by a couple rulers
3. 1 by Cyrus in 538 B.C. two by Artaxerxes in 458 and 444 B.C.
4. my favorite, Artaxerxes in 445
PP Nehemiah 2:8-9
5. scholars fix the date at March 21st, 445 B.C.
6. 483 years from that date put us in 38 A.D., too long for reference to Christ. But wait!
IV. Where Are We Now?
1. Jewish prophetic year has 360 days, and that equals 173,880 days.
2. factor in differences in calendars, leap years, brings you to Palm Sunday, 32 A.D. And what was supposed to happen on that date according to Daniel 9:26? Anointed One cut off
PP Luke 19:43-44
3. this is the end of sin, the rejection by the nation of Israel of their promised Messiah.
4. remember the definition of sin?
PP “Sin is the consistent refusal to obey the clear revelation of God” And what does God require?
PP John 6:29
5. Jesus was “cut off”, rejected by the Jewish people.
6. but in that rejection He was crucified for the Jews and for us, and so “made atonement for sin”
7. and his death and resurrection established the foundation for those “still future goals” to be realized.
V. The “Seven” That’s Left
1. now people argue about this, but the Bible makes it very clear.
2. either the 490 are done with, and ended with the Roman general Titus destroying Jerusalem in 70 A.D.
3. question: did Titus fulfill all these prophecies?
4. v26 “people of the ruler to come: will destroy the city and the sanctuary” OK
5. this same person (?) will confirm a covenant for one “7”, break it half thru, and set up an “abomination that causes desolation”.
Il) Antiochus did this by sacrificing a pig on the altar around 163 B.C.
6. but again, did he fulfill it all? Jesus did not think so.
7. speaking almost 200 after years after Antiochus died, Jesus clarifies who this person is.
PP Matthew 24:15
8. rest of discourse, makes the following clarifications:
PP after this abomination, the Jews at least will experience the time of great distress, never again equaled.
-time of great deception, false Christs
-powerful signs in the heavens.
-Son of Man returns, elect are gathered
9. have these further clarifications been fulfilled, in addition to the three incomplete promises in God’s Big Plan? No, but they will be
Conc. So we are in period some call “the Great Parenthesis”. The 70th week of Daniel is in the future.
1. and while we wait, we serve God and love our friends and our neighbors and our enemies.
2. our future is secure, the Antichrist will be defeated in God’s time.
3. it is all in the hands of the One who never guesses, who never speculates.
4. He has goals to fulfill, and will do so with absolute perfection.
5. take comfort in the detailed fulfillment of the promise to send Jesus to atone for our sins.
6. it is the very cornerstone of His plan to defeat sin and establish righteousness for all eternity.
