Well, 2020 is again a year like no other. We have a terribly contentious Presidential election. And election day and night come, and the result is inconclusive. Who will be the next President of the United States? Most folks have been sitting on the edge of their chair wondering. Some are surely losing sleep over it. Who will be in charge of our country? Whose agenda will now be pursued. But the results are delayed by a close election, charges of fraud, lawsuits being filed. Now, we wonder if by inauguration day if the matter will be settled, and what this means for the United, or Disunited, States of America.
However, the truth is, in the long run, human life and human government are often chaotic and unpredictable. That’s the history of mankind. It was a history that the prophet Daniel had become familiar with in his relatively long life. One moment, his nation, Israel, had been a proud, independent nation. The next, it was defeated by King Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians. He had been taken into captivity 500 miles away from his home in Israel, and for the next 70 years he had served the kings of Babylon and Persia. And now, in the first year of Darius the Mede, the Medes and the Persians had defeated the Babylonians, and now he was serving a new Gentile Kingdom. And he had still been wondering what would become of his own nation, his own people, their land, and the treasured temple of God that had been destroyed, left desolate in the Babylonian invasion years earlier. Now he had read in the prophet Jeremiah’s scroll--as we mentioned Jeremiah had been a contemporary of his, only he had lived out most of his life back in Jerusalem. But Daniel had read that the captivity of Israel would last 70 years. And lo and behold, 67 years had passed, so things were about to change again. And he understood that it was when his nation prayed and sought God with all their heart that they would find God, and that God would bring them back into their land. And so that’s what he had sought to do in Daniel 9, confessing the sins of his people Israel, seeking God’s forgiveness, and in prayer, seeking the welfare of both His people and their holy city, and the temple which had been built on it. And so, in a sense, he was seeking to know what would become of his people and his holy city. There had been a long delay in what would be the outcome for him as well, when an angel, the Angel Gabriel, interrupted his fervent prayers late that day.
And from Gabriel’s answer to his prayers about the outcome for his people and his city, we can learn something about how to respond to the political uncertainties of our day. When the results are delayed, be at peace, because God will still achieve His purposes. For Daniel, those purposes had to do with Israel specifically, but they also had to do with Israel’s world. And so what the angel had to say to Daniel is relevant as we experience the political and social turmoil of our own day, now some 2500 years later.
In verses 20-23, Gabriel now tells Daniel that he is highly esteemed in heaven, and as a result of his fervent prayer, confession and intercession for his people, Gabriel had now come to give him insight and understanding. He’s exhorted at the end of verse 23 to “give heed to the message and gain understanding of the vision.”
And so that’s exactly what I hope to do for you. To help you to give heed to the message and gain understanding of the vision.
Now, as we’ve read it, it is a mouthful, and a mind full. More prophetic ground is covered in these four verses than perhaps anywhere else in all of the Bible. And it begins with a declaration that God’s purposes will ultimately be achieved. No matter what happens, no matter how long the delay, and there will be a delay while men attempt to work things for their own purposes in this world, ultimately, God on High will achieve His purposes in history. So in this sense, we need to be still, to cease striving, and know that God and His purposes will be exalted upon the earth.
Verse 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.”
Daniel’s prayer had been all about his people, Israel, and the holy city Jerusalem, in tandem with concern about the great temple that had once been the center of activity in that city. Both had been destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar’s campaigns against the Jews decades earlier—they lay desolate, and the people exiled in Babylon now for 67 years. And now the angel lays out God’s program for Israel and says that it will be accomplished in a period of seventy weeks.
Now, when we think of weeks, we think of periods of seven days. However, in this case, the word “week” refers to a period of seven somethings, without designating precisely what that period is—whether seventy weeks refers to days, so that so that 490 days are in view, or whether a week refers to a period of seven days, or 490 weeks of days, or whether a week refers to years, or 490 years is in view. I think it’s fair to say that since we’ve been dealing with years in the context, and since Israel had been in captivity for a ten sevens, or 70 years, that in all likelihood, this is a reference to 70 sevens of years, or 490 years. And during that period of 490 years the angel tells Daniel that six great purposes of God will be accomplished for Israel. These great purposes are monumental purposes. When each of these purposes is accomplished, or all of them together, it’s fair to say that there will be monumental changes on the planet, not just for Israel and its holy city, though they are central to this prophecy.
First, by the end of these 490 years, Daniel is told that it has been decreed for the people and the holy city will “finish the transgression.” Transgression is a synonym for sin. It speaks specifically of crossing a line between sin and righteousness. At first it seems to be an accomplishment which is the equivalent of the next great achievement, “to make an end of sin.” However, if the two are mentioned separately, they must be distinct in some respect. The best I can make of it is that they are distinct in this one respect. The key word in the first goal is the word the, the definite article indicating a distinct transgression rather than a general kind of sin. I suspect, and others agree, that this finish of the transgression refers specifically to the sin of Israel, it’s transgression against its Covenant with God at Mt. Sinai, or the Old or Mosaic Covenant. The reason that Israel was now in exile was because it had transgressed the covenant, as Daniel had referred to it in his prayer. But Israel’s transgression of this covenant would not end with the exile. It would continue in sin in various ways, and in such rebellion against God that it would ultimately crucify God’s Messiah, the Son of God, and thus bring even greater wrath against itself. And so the transgression here spoken of at the first is, I believe, very specific, and limited to the transgression of God’s people against the Old Covenant. It will be finished, completed, and brought to an end during this 490-year period. Now, this is a huge deal! Imagine, bringing a nation’s sin to an end. I can’t imagine this happening unless the Kingdom of God comes upon Israel, and that’s exactly what I think this is pointing to. In fact, to some degree, and to a large degree, all six of these monumental purposes which will be achieved by God are for the most part only the sort of things that will be accomplished when God brings His Kingdom to earth, even as we pray every time we pray the Lord’s prayer: “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven.”
The second great purpose that will be accomplished according to the angel is “making an end to sin.” Again a monumental purpose which only God could accomplish. I believe here it’s speaking of the sin of the world, and again, this is only likely to happen, according to God’s other prophetic statements, at the end of this age, when the Kingdom of God and His Christ comes to earth. At that point, and leading up to that point in what is variously called the Day of the Lord an the Great Tribulation, the nations will be judged, and sinners will be judged, and only the citizens of God’s Kingdom, most of them cleansed of sin and immortalized, will initially remain upon the earth.
The third great purpose is “to make an atonement for iniquity.” Iniquity is another word for sin. Jews might have thought atonement was being made in the temple through the many sacrifices made there for centuries, but we know from the New Testament book of Hebrews and Jesus Himself that these were just a foreshadowing of Christ’s great work on the cross, when he made atonement, that is satisfied God’s wrath against our sin, by dying on the cross to pay for our sins.
So the first three great purposes have to do with mankind and Israel’s great problem in relationship to God—our sin. God deals with sin. He either judges it or atones for it through Christ’s death on the cross, and all this will be accomplished in the course of this 490-year period spoken of by Gabriel.
The next three all have to do with establishing righteousness and are equally monumental. “To bring in everlasting righteousness” obviously refers to something that will uniquely happen when the Kingdom of God comes to earth. Sin will be gone, and God’s righteousness will then prevail.
“To seal up vision and prophecy” likely has to do with authenticating and fulfilling the major prophecies and visions of Scripture. Often, when people sealed something in the Old Testament, they were putting their signature, or their mark on something as authentic. In the same way, the fulfillment of the bulk of Scriptural prophecy will mark it as authentic, when it is fulfilled by Messiah’s coming to establish the Kingdom of God on earth.
And finally, “to anoint the most holy place” most probably refers to Daniel’s concern about the temple, or the sanctuary. The word “place” is not in the original, so the interpretation is less certain. However, in light of Daniel’s prayers about the sanctuary, I believe it’s a reference to the Millennial Temple that will be established as a place of worship in Jerusalem yet again in the Millennial Kingdom.
So a lot’s going to happen in that 490-year period. Gabriel is saying, no matter how troublesome and tumultuous the times get, God will ultimately achieve these great and incredible purposes on behalf of Israel, and obviously as the coming of the Kingdom is involved, what happens to Israel, will ultimately happen for the whole earth. So, we can take solace in this. God will establish His kingdom for His purposes no matter the turmoil and tensions of our day, no matter who ends up President.
So put your hope in God’s purposes, not in a particular political leader for the moment.
Now the question that might come to mind is when this 490-year period will be fulfilled. That’s a more complicated matter. It immediately becomes apparent that the 490-year period doesn’t begin immediately as Gabriel speaks. But there’s a future, from Daniel’s perspective, starting point for this 490-year period. And more than that, the 490-year period is broken up into three different parts, consisting of seven sevens, 62 sevens, and one seven, and all three parts are not consecutive.
But what we will begin to see is verse 25 is the fulfillment of one of the most incredible prophecies in all of Scripture—a prophecy that predicts precisely when the Jewish Messiah would come.
And from this we can learn to put our hope in God’s promises—in God’s prophetic Word—because Messiah came, and Jerusalem also was rebuilt, we can be assured that God’s prophetic Word is accurate and will be fulfilled in its entirety.
Verse 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.”
So the prophecy is given in accord with Daniel’s expressed concern in his prayers that Jerusalem will indeed be rebuilt. It will not lay desolate for all time to come, a big relief to Daniel I’m sure. But for our purposes, the bigger and most interesting prophecy is thrown in about Israel’s Messiah, the Prince, the one designated to become Israel’s great King of Kings.
So we’re told that the beginning point of the 70 weeks or 70 sevens of years occurs when a decree is issued for the rebuilding of Jerusalem. This is prophetic. It’s a future decree that was not issued until nearly 100 years later, 95 years later to be exact, by another King of the Medes and the Persians, Artaxerxes I. The decree is found in Nehemiah 2, it specifically deals with permitting Nehemiah to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, and it was given in March of 444 B.C. That’s when the prophetic clock begins ticking. Then we’re told there will be seven sevens or seven weeks of years and 62 weeks of years. Now exactly why the 69 weeks of years is divided into seven and 62 weeks of years is a matter for which there is no easy answer. The best answer I’ve heard is that the work of rebuilding Jerusalem as a whole took that whole first 49 years. Now that’s not certain in history. We know once Nehemiah got his plan together, he rebuilt the whole wall of Jerusalem in just 53 days, but he didn’t rebuild all of Jerusalem. So we can’t be sure on that point. But what we are sure is that 62 + 7 equal 69 weeks of years, or 483 years between Artaxerxes decree in 444 B.C. and the coming of the Messiah, puts us smack dab in the middle or toward the end of the ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. In fact, some scholars who have seriously studied this whole matter have done this calculation. They tell us, and this is confirmed in the Book of Genesis and elsewhere, that Hebrew or Biblical years consisted of 360 days, rather than our 365-day year. Therefore 69 sevens of years equals 483 years consisting of 360 days each. 483 years X 360 days equals 173,880 days. And according to Dr. Harold Hoehner of Dallas Seminary’s calculations that brings us to Palm Sunday, March 30, 33 A.D., the day Jesus of Nazareth rode into Jerusalem, presenting himself as Israel’s Messiah. Wow, quite incredible! Now, no matter how you sweat the details here, two facts are evident. The prophecy points us to the ministry of Jesus of Nazareth as Israel’s Messiah. It indicates that the Jewish Messiah has already come. So that Jews who are still looking for the Messiah by the testimony of their own Scriptures, have missed Him. And finally, as we shall see in a second, the Messiah must have come before the destruction of the second Temple in 70 A.D. That’s because that’s the prophecy of verse 26—that the Messiah would be cut off, or die, a violent death—before the second temple would be destroyed. This is all very significant. This is the one place in all of the Old Testament where the prophets specifically mention when the Messiah would come, and it absolutely assures us, and the Jews, if they would open their hearts to it, that Jesus of Nazareth is that Messiah.
Okay, so there are two important prophecies here in verse 25: One that predicts precisely when Messiah would come. And that was precisely fulfilled in the ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. And secondly, that Jerusalem, after having been destroyed, would be rebuilt. Both have been fulfilled. Scripture is vindicated as the Word of God. As God says in Psalm 46:1: “Be still and know that I am God. My name will be exalted upon the earth.” And He’ll take care of you and I ultimately as well.
However, until the kingdom comes, there will be continued chaos and conflict. Verses 26-27 tell us to expect conflict and chaos until the end. As long as man has something to say about life in this world, sin will result in this kind of chaos and conflict.
Now, here is an explicit prediction that the Jewish Messiah would die, and even die a violent death—a shock to most of today’s Jewish readers who would have expected the Messiah to bring in the Kingdom. He will, but He hasn’t yet. First, He had to die to pay the penalty for our sins.
Verse 26: “Then after the 62 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.”
In other words, God’s telling Daniel, chaos and conflict, war, and desolations will continue until the Kingdom comes. In fact, the chaos will go as far as the death of the Messiah. The Messiah himself will be cut off “and have nothing.” The “have nothing” indicates that at this point he will not inherit the Kingdom, as Daniel 7:13-14 had predicted. Of course, we know this was fulfilled in 33 A.D., as Jesus Christ died a violent death on the cross, but for our sins.
And likely as a consequence of this, as Jesus predicted in Matthew 23 and 24, Israel would again be thoroughly disciplined. “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.
So yet another prophecy has been fulfilled. In 70 A.D. the eventual Roman Emperor Titus led the Romans to lay siege to Jerusalem, and the temple was again destroyed, and the city as well, within a generation of Christ’s death. And of course, to this day, the temple has not been rebuilt. “Its end will come with a flood” probably refers to an invasion of the Roman legions that flooded the city and led to its siege and destruction. Then a leap into the future. Even to the end—I take it the end of the age—“there will be war, desolations are determined. So the chaos and conflict, wars and rumors of wars will continue until the end of this age, and Jerusalem and the temple will by no means be exempted from these things, likely because of the Jews’ rejection and crucifixion of their own Messiah.
Now at this point it’s important to note that these two specific predictions: The Messiah’s death and the destruction of the temple, happen after the 69th week. Verse 26: “Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the sanctuary.” So there is apparently an interruption of the 70 weeks of years, they are not consecutive. The Prophetic clock stopped ticking with Christ’s coming and probably His rejection by Israel. So the big question is when the clock starts ticking again, when the 70th week starts. And it becomes clear that that 70th week doesn’t start until Israel, in its sin, signs a covenant with the Antichrist—“the prince who is to come” of verse 26. Now notice, verse 26 says it’s the people of the prince who is to come who would destroy the temple in verse 25. Not the prince, but the people who pertain to that prince. We now know that the Romans were the people who destroyed the temple. So the prince who is to come is a Roman, part of the Roman Empire, which agrees with the other prophecies of Daniel. And the pronoun at the start of verse 27 is a reference to this prince who is to come, whom I maintain will be the Antichrist.
Verse 27: “And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week.” Do you see the first reference to the 70th week here? That’s important. This means that the 7oth week begins with a covenant, a treaty, made between the Antichrist “and the many” for one week. Now I take it that “the many” refers to the majority of the folks in Israel, since this prophecy deals with the people of Israel and the temple, probably the apostate majority in Israel, who in place of the true Christ, accept the Antichrist, along with the rest of the world. This is in keeping with God giving people over to their sin: “You won’t accept my Christ, so I’ll give you a Christ according to your own desires.” And then they discover what that means for them.
Next phrase, in verse 27: “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.” Now this is admittedly difficult. But the way I and many others sort this out is that the Antichrist, in exact accord with what we find in the Book of Revelation, chapter 13 and what Jesus says about the Abomination of Desolation that will stand in the most holy place in an apparently rebuilt temple of the Jews, will double-cross the Jews. He will, in the middle of the final seven-year period, put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering in the temple. He will do so because he will follow in the steps of the Old Testament Antichrist, in that he will desecrate the temple by coming into it, and claiming to be God Himself, and will take his seat in the holy of holies proclaiming Himself to be God, as II Thessalonians 2 says he clearly will. And then it refers to one who comes on the wing of abominations who makes desolate. I’ve often thought this was also a reference to the Antichrist, but it almost seems that it’s talking about yet another person here. I think it’s possible this could be a reference to the false prophet, the Antichrist’s buddy, according to the book of Revelation, chapter 13, who will erect an image of the Antichrist in the most holy place, the Abomination that Causes Desolation according to Jesus, and that this desolating work is actually completed by the false prophet of the Antichrist. Or it could refer to the Antichrist Himself. At any rate, destruction will come on both the Antichrist and his false prophet in the end, as it says here, one that is decreed by God Himself, that will be poured out in the end on them as the true Christ returns and slays them with the sword of His mouth and casts them into the Lake of Fire. This will mark the end of the 70th week, of prophecy. It will be the Battle of Armageddon and it will take place when Israel finally repents and recognizes Jesus as their Messiah. Only then will He return and establish His kingdom in Jerusalem.
Wow, what a whirlwind of a prophecy!
Yes, for Daniel and for all of us, the results are delayed. Who ultimately is going to be in charge of the world? Well, be still, be at peace, and know that though chaos and carnage will continue until the end, God is at work and God’s purposes will ultimately be achieved. The Kingdom of God and His Christ will prevail. Even when the results of our election are delayed, there is conflict, chaos and uncertainty, God’s Man, the Christ will ultimately rule. And we win!
