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Unless otherwise noted, all scripture is quoted from the New Living Translation.
An outline from the Message Guide printed in the bulletin is included at the end of the textual portion of this sermon.
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I need to tell you up front thatthat I am NOT particularly fond of this last part of Daniel 9. And it’s not because I think that it is any less the Word of God or that the message in here rubs me the wrong way.
It’s just that it’s so complicated!
I prefer to have everything laid out in plain and simple terms.
But this is apocalyptic literature – heavy in symbolism but lite in interpretative tools.
And to make matters worse, because the passage is so complicated it has become extremely controversial. Everyone seems to have a very strong opinion about what all of this means – including myself!
But the problem with that is that whenever we come to this passage the tendency is to look for things in it to reinforce our interpretation of it. It has become polemically loaded.
Consequently, since we’re so busy trying to sort through the details to prove our positions – we tend to gloss over the point of it all. We miss what God is really saying to us through this text.
Well, this morning I want us to hear what God is saying through the last 7 verses of Daniel 9.
But it order to do that we will have to wade into the water a bit to sort through what was actually being said back there in the 6th century BC.
Now, we could spend hours on this but really we have only 15 or 20 minutes this morning. And hopefully, I have your attention for at least some of that time.
So what I’ve done is put together an outline chart that is on the message guide in the bulletin. And I am going to run us through the text very quickly – using that outline -- realizing that I can’t do any kind of justice to the arguments or the nuances of the text.
But I simply want to get us to the point where we can hear what God is saying through this passage to us. So let’s take a look at the text.
If you remember from last week we talked about the fact that Daniel had been reading the prophet Jeremiah and consequently he had become aware that the time was about right for the return of the Jewish people from exile back to Judah and Jerusalem.
He begans a fervent prayer of repentance on behalf of himself and the people – a prayer of preparation.
Look at verse 20 – "I went on praying and confessing my sin and the sins of my people, pleading with the LORD my God for Jerusalem, his holy mountain. As I was praying, Gabriel, whom I had seen in the earlier vision, came swiftly to me at the time of the evening sacrifice. He explained to me, ’Daniel, I have come here to give you insight and understanding. The moment you began praying, a command was given. I am here to tell you what it was, for God loves you very much. Now listen, so you can understand the meaning of your vision.’"
This is an affirmation of God’s love for Daniel. As a matter of fact this particular construction of the phrase “God loves you very much” is used in the Old Testament in other places to convey desire for someone – a deep object of affection.
In other words, "Daniel, you’re so right on the money with what you’re doing I can’t tell you how much this pleases me. I can’t tell you how much I want to be with you and have you with me. This is exactly what I’ve been hoping for," says God. "And because of this love for you I want to fill you in a bit on what is going to be happening."
Thus verses 24-27.
First of all, Gabriel tells him that God has ordered a period of time where there will be 70 sets of 7.
That may mean 70 sets of 7 days. Again, I think the numbers 70 and 7 are significant for their figurative value rather than their literal value. Seven was the number of completion in Hebrew thinking. 70 sets of 7 suggests that the time is really complete.
So there is going to be a period of completion – and whether these numbers also work themselves out in a literal way is up for debate. I’ll talk about that in a minute.
And during this period six things are going to happen.
1. transgression or rebellion toward God will be finished.
2. There will be an end to sin.
3. And there will be an atonement for the guilt associated with that sin.
We could spend hours unpacking what this means.
Do note that these first three statements are about the removal of evil. Then the next three are about the benefits of such.
4. Everlasting righteousness will enter the scene.
By the way, righteousness is a legal term, and it carries heavy connotations of justice.
5. Then there will be a confirmation or sealing of the prophetic vision – a ratification of what the prophets had been saying.
6. And then there will be an anointing of the Most Holy Place – probably a reference to the Temple or maybe even the City of Jerusalem.
This will be followed by another period of sixty-two sets of seven plus two sets of seven.
I’m not sure what the symbolism of this means. Again, anything we do with the numbers anyway is really a matter of educated guessing because we don’t think of numbers in the same way that these ancient people did.
Numbers had symbolic values that were often more important than the sequential value of the numbers.
Anyway, during this period there will be a command to rebuild the city of Jerusalem – which by the way, happened under the direction of Ezra and Nehemiah.
Jerusalem will be rebuilt – a process that will continue until the “anointed one” arrives.
Now, in addition to what kind of value we’re going to assign the numbers, this is where the passage gets a little sticky.
Who is the anointed one?
As Christians we immediately note that the word anointed one is the word Messiah (mashiyach) – also know in Greek as Christos – the Christ.
And we say, Wow! Daniel is talking about the coming of the Messiah – Jesus!
However, back in the 6th century B.C. this term, "anointed one", was also applied in the Old Testament to various temporal messiahs.
For example in Isaiah 45:1 King Cyrus is called the “Anointed One.” And perhaps this passage in here in Daniel 9 is a reference to him. Indeed he would fit the bill.
But...
We’ll come back to this in a minute.
Then there will be a third period of time after the sixty-two sets of seven. This is discussed in verses 26-27.
During that time the “Anointed One will be killed, appearing to have accomplished nothing...”
Are you beginning to see why Christians see Jesus in here?
A ruler and his armies will destroy the temple it says.
This might be a reference to what Antiochus did when he desecrated the Temple in the 2nd century B.C.
Or maybe this is referring to what the Roman Titus did in A.D. 70 when he destroyed the Temple. And it has not been rebuilt since.
Some people see this as a reference to a future event that will mark the very last days of human history. This of course, means that the Temple must be rebuilt first.
And we hear rumors (which I believe are unsubstatiated) all the time of wealthy Jews who have prefabbed the temple and it’s waiting in some warehouse somewhere for the right opportunity when the Muslims will be kicked out of Jerusalem. And the prefabed parts will be rushed into the city and the Temple will be reconstructed. All so that it can once again be desecrated and destroyed again.
This line of thinking has been particularly popular in the U.S. over the last 100 years but is very recent in formulation and is not at all the mainstream view amongst Christians throughout the rest of the world.
I won’t get going on what I think about this but I’m sure you can guess.
Back to the text. In verse 26 all of this will be followed by flood, war, and misery -- signs of judment.
This ruler will make a treaty with the people for a period of one set of sevens -- Seven days? Seven weeks? Seven years?
It’s not clear – but at half that time he will renege and end all sacrifices and Temple offerings. And the Temple will be desecrated by setting up a sacrilegious object.
More literally, verse 27, “And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolation...” (ESV)
And then, verse 27, this will last until “the end that has been decreed is poured out on this defiler.”
If this were a joke this last line would be the punch line. It’s like a funnel. Everything has been narrowing to this point. This is the point that ties it all together and where it makes sense.
God is still in control and in the end he has the final word and judgment of some sort will be poured out on this terrible terrible person.
In summary Jerusalem and the Temple will be rebuilt – an anointed leader will emerge. But he will be cut down – and everything will eventually be destroyed again.
Yet, God will not allow this attack to go unanswered. There will be judgment!
In the end – he has the final word. Hurray! This is what the Jews wanted ot hear -- needed to hear.
Now, just a couple of quick little bunny trails here.
And I’ve mentioned both of these already but I just want to highlight them as issues – because they ultimately become critical in how you understand what it happening here.
The first is the numbers.
Are the numbers in this vision or dream to be understood in a literal fashion or a more figurative fashion?
The whole Left Behind series of books is predicated on a very literal use of the numbers in this passage and other apocalyptic passages.
And this is one reason I think these books are off base.
In my humble opinion (which isn’t all that humble), they don’t take the Bible seriously enough. The Bible is a sophisticated piece of literature that God gave to his people.
And if you start reading things that were intended to be taken figuratively in an overly literal fashion – just because we prefer the simplicity of literal to the complex of figurative – then we’re not taking the Bible seriously.
This is how I see it. And I know that there are good brothers and sisters in Christ who disagree with me here on this particular passage but this is how I see it.
Then the next issue is who is the “anointed one”?
There are a lot of people who might fit the description -- Seleucus Philopator in the second century B.C. or the Persian King Cyrus in the sixth century B.C. Some scholars speculate that it’s really talking about a line of ruling high priests that are cut down in 2 Maccabees.
And frankly, I’m not sure who best fits the pattern.
But I know that in the fullest sense it was Jesus the Messiah. There were other anointed men that came along before Jesus. But they were only precursors. They were just priming the pump for what was about to happen.
If these guys were messiahs – it was with a little m. And Jesus was Messiah with a big M.
He was God’s anointed one sent to save the world. He was the one who came to definitively put down the human rebellion.
He was the one who came to bring an end to the reign of sin.
He was the one who came to atone for the guilt of all people – establishing everlasting righteousness, confirming what the prophets had said, and anointing the Most Holy Place – the heavenly temple that we read of in the book of Hebrews.
And yet – he too was cut down – but he rose from the dead to have the final word about death. Death and all associated with it are judged.
You see, the defiler is going to meet his doom.
So don’t give in to doom and despair, thinking that just because a lot of bad things happen – that the war has been lost!
To the contrary!
This vision is meant to instill real and tangible hope for God’s people. And this is the key point this morning – the only real fill in blank on the message guide today.
IN OUTLING THE FUTURE GOD IS LOVINGLY CONVEYING TO DANIEL (AND US) THE SENSE THT HE IS IN CONTROL SO THAT EVEN THOUGH THERE ARE ROCKY TIMES AHEAD, WE CAN HAVE TANGIBLE AND REAL HOPE.
In a minute we’re going to remember the Lord’s death and resurrection by sharing in the Lord’s Supper.
This sacrament functions like Daniel’s vision for us.
In that very complicated encounter Daniel caught a glimpse of just how bad things could get. And at the same time he saw an end to sin – atonement for guilt – everlasting righteousness – and the victory of God.
These are exactly the same things we know through our relationship with Jesus Christ – the end of sin -- atonement for guilt -- an everlasting righteousness.
The triumph of the cross, the joy of the resurrection, and the hope of the ultimate return of Christ -- When we will all be restored from our exile -- And the defiler who desecrates the living temple of God will be subject to judgment.
Therefore, lift up your hearts – become hopeful people – no matter how rough things are for you right now.
God IS in control.
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Message Guide
“In Spite of Terrible Endings” + Daniel 9:21-27
Outline
God’s affirmation of Daniel (20-23)
The Explanation of what is going to happen (24-27)
A. There will be a period of “70 sets of 7" (24)
• to “put down rebellion” (nlt), to “finish the transgression” (esv) (24)
• to “bring an end to sin” (24)
• to “atone for guilt” (24)
• to “bring in everlasting righteousness” (24)
• to “confirm the prophetic vision” (24)
• to “anoint the Most Holy Place” (24)
Note that there are 3 statements about the removal of evil and 3 statements about the ensuing benefits of removing evil.
B. There will be a period of sixty-two sets of seven plus two sets of seven. (25)
• command to rebuild Jerusalem until the “anointed one” arrives
• “Jerusalem will be rebuilt with streets and strong defenses, despite the perilous times.”
C. There will be a period after the sixty-two sets of seven (26-27)
• “The Anointed One will be killed, appearing to have accomplished nothing...” (26)
• a ruler with armies will destroy the Temple and city (26)
• Signs of judgment decreed: flood, war, miseries (26)
• He will make a treaty with the people for a period of one set of sevens. (27)
• But after half that time he will put an end to the sacrifices and the offerings. (27)
• He will then desecrate the Temple by setting up a sacrilegious object. (27) Literally, “And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate...” (esv)
• This will last until the “decreed end is poured out on the desolator.” (esv, 27) JUDGMENT!
Issues:
A. Are these numbers to be understood in a literal fashion or a more figurative fashion? (The Left Behind people emphasize the literal, Brad would emphasize the figurative nature)
B. Who is the “Anointed One”?
• Seleucus Philopator (died c. 175 B.C.)?
• Cyrus, who is referred to in Isaiah 45:1 as the Lord’s “anointed one”?
• Or several high priests mentioned in 2 Maccabees 4?
• Jesus, the Messiah?
Key Point:
In outlining the future God is lovingly conveying to Daniel (and us) the sense that he is control so that even though there are rocky times ahead, we can have tangible and real _________________.
