INTRODUCTION
The ninth chapter of Daniel centers clearly upon the person of Jesus Christ and is one of the few places in Scripture where God ties himself to a definite timetable of events. This passage is therefore one of the strongest evidences to prove the divine inspiration of the Bible. I am sometimes asked why I believe the Bible to be the Word of God, and Daniel 9 is one of the reasons. If you ever wonder whether this is a divine book or just a book of religious stories, it is helpful to know certain passages which clearly set forth predictive elements that are unmistakable and then check to see if they have been fulfilled. The ability of the Bible to predict events far in the distant future should serve as an intellectual wake-up call to anyone who is honest enough to consider the evidence. The passage we are looking at is that kind of passage. It pinpoints the exact moment in history when the Jewish Messiah would present himself to the Jewish people, and it does so more than 500 years before the event took place.
By the way, some people are always trying to compare Christianity with other religions. Christianity is not a religion; it is a personal relationship with God. But in case you still are trying to compare it to other religions consider this: None of the other major religious writings (the Koran, or the writings of Confucius, or Buddha) have prophetic predictions that can be reliably verified in history. They contain stories and teachings, and principles but the Bible is the only book that contains prophecy that can be verified. The possible exception to this is Zoroaster, who lived about 700 years before Jesus and some believe to be a Gentile “God fearer” like Balaam. Some see close parallels between Zoroaster and Bible prophecy, which might be proof he was at one time on the correct path to knowing the One true God. Only eternity will resolve this issue.
Daniel’s prophecy in Chapter 9 is neither a vision nor a dream. There are no strange symbols of animals or statues. It is a direct message to the prophet from God, delivered by the angel Gabriel. This is the same angel that appeared to Joseph and to Mary, as recorded in the opening chapters of the New Testament. The angel Gabriel was sent to the prophet Daniel to give him a clear and undisguised look into the future in answer to a prayer of the prophet.
I. GOD’S PLAN EXPRESSED (24)
Daniel was on his knees in prayer, pouring out his heart to God in confession and petition. God sends the angel Gabriel with the answer in Daniel 9:23. “As soon as you began to pray, an answer was given, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed. Therefore, consider the message and understand the vision.”
Gabriel says this is a message that can be understood.
Six phases of redemption
In verse 24 Gabriel outlines what we may call six phases of total redemption. These are six big things God is going to do. “Seventy sevens are decreed for your people and your holy city to (1) finish transgression; (2) to put an end to sin; (3) to atone for wickedness; (4) to bring in everlasting righteousness; (5) to seal up vision and prophecy; (6) and to anoint the most holy.”
Notice this message is to Israel (your people) and it involves Jerusalem (the holy city). As you read the Bible, it is very important you distinguish between what is addressed to Israel and what is addressed to the church. All the Bible applies to us as Believers, but not all the Bible is addressed to us. As God reveals His plan for Israel there are six major phases of God’s total redemptive plan. It includes what Jesus did on the cross. He put an end to sin and He atoned for wickedness. But it also refers to the total scope of God’s plan in the future, when, during the 1,000-year reign of Christ, righteousness will cover the earth, when all visions and prophecies will be sealed up (finished). So you must understand God is giving Daniel a glimpse into the future that takes us up to the very end of the world, as we know it.
Of all the problems of mankind, the two most basic are sin and death. Every other problem fades in comparison. It doesn’t matter who you are or where you live, sin and death must be dealt with. That is the purpose of God’s redemption, to solve those two human problems.
II. GOD’S TIMING EXPLAINED (25-26)
This is the most amazing prophetic passage in all the Word of God, because God not only tells us what will happen, but He gives us the precise timing of these plans. Go back to verse 24 and pick up the first phrase relating to timing:
Daniel 9:24. “Seventy sevens [the KJV says “weeks”] are decreed.” That word means “measured” or “divided.” Skip down to verse 25. “Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem [a precise starting point] until the Anointed One, the ruler comes, there will be seven ‘sevens,’ and sixty-two ‘sevens.’ It [Jerusalem] will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble. After [a stopping point] the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be cut off [a word used of a tree that is chopped down] and will have nothing. [Jesus died alone] The people of the ruler who will come [the Antichrist] will destroy the city [Jerusalem] and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood; war will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed.”
If you are a little confused let me try to explain this. Hundreds of commentaries have been written on this, and surprisingly the vast majority of conservative Bible scholars agree on these points.
70 “Sevens” = 490 years
Let’s take each time period individually. First: 70 “sevens” = 490 years. The Hebrew word the KJV translates “week” is the word shabuwa. It simply means “seven.” It could mean seven minutes, seven days, or seven decades. The context here makes it clear it is seven years, the same way it is used in Genesis 29 when it speaks of Jacob working a “week” (7 years) for Rachel.
It’s like our English word “dozen.” If I told you to bring me a “dozen,” you’d say, “A dozen what?” You wouldn’t know if I meant 12 bowling balls, 12 Bibles, or 12 tacos. But if I’m standing in front of a counter of glazed doughnuts, and I say, “I’d like a dozen,” the context would make it clear. The context of Daniel 9 makes it clear he is talking about 490 years. Now hang onto that number because it is the most important one.
Starting date: 444 B.C.
Next, we have to arrive at a starting date for the 490 years, and Gabriel says to start the clock when the decree goes forth to rebuild and restore Jerusalem. We read in Nehemiah 2:1 that Artaxerxes, the Persian king, made this decree in the month Nisan in the 20th year of his reign. Secular historians tell us this was spring of 444 B.C. (some say 445, because they add a year since there is no “zero” year in our calendar). With those two numbers before us, 490 total years, and 444 B.C., let’s look at what Gabriel says would happen and when it will happen. Remember much of this is history to us, but it was all future prophecy to Daniel.
1. 7 “Sevens” = 49 years: Jerusalem rebuilt
The Bible and history tell us the Jews did return to Jerusalem, led by Ezra and Nehemiah. By the year 395 B.C., Jerusalem was restored, but as Gabriel predicted it would only happen “in times of trouble.” Do you remember our study of Nehemiah two years ago? There was such opposition to the rebuilding of Jerusalem the workmen had to work with a trowel in one hand and a sword in the other. When Jerusalem is rebuilt, this begins what many call the 400 years of silence that takes place between the end of the Old Testament and the coming of Jesus. So, we see that the first time period, 49 years is fulfilled. Gabriel introduces the next time period:
2. 62 “Sevens” = 434 years: (49 + 434 = 483 years)
When you combine the 49 years (first period) with 62 ‘sevens’ (434 years), we are looking at a 483 year period in which some amazing events will be predicted. But before we look into them, look at our first number: 490 years and compare it to our current number: 483 years. How many years does that leave? Seven. That last seven-year period is the time that will be explained in verse 27 and it is the 7 year tribulation described in detail in Revelation 6-19.
But what did Gabriel say would happen at the end of the 483 year period? Look again at verse. 26, “After 62 (and the 7) sevens the Anointed One will be cut off.” Two big events will occur after this second period is completed:
A. Messiah rejected (33 A.D.)
The very word translated “anointed” is the Hebrew word “Mashiyach,” which we pronounce Messiah. This prophecy predicts the Jewish Messiah would be rejected and killed (cut off) “and will have nothing.” That is a phrase that means this Jewish King will be killed without leaving any apparent heirs. The idea of a Jewish man and especially a Jewish King dying without any children or heirs was unthinkable, but that was the prediction.
A former Orthodox Jewish man, Harold Sevener, became a Christian by studying Daniel 9. “Only one person in all of Jewish history, or for that matter in all of world history, could have fulfilled this prophecy in every detail. That person was Yeshua of Nazareth. Daniel is told, and we can calculate, exactly when the Messiah, whom God promised to send to Israel would be cut off.” (Daniel: God’s Man in Babylon, p. 153) How precise was this prediction? We shall look at that in a moment. The second major event that would take place after this period is:
B. Jerusalem destroyed (70 A.D.)
When Daniel received this prophecy, Jerusalem had not been rebuilt and here Gabriel predicts after the Messiah is “cut off” some people will come and “destroy the city and sanctuary and the end would come like a flood.” Now let’s look at history again. Did this happen?
In 70 A.D., Roman armies under Titus surrounded the city and its end came with a flood. Josephus, the historian who was an eyewitness, records one of the most horrible sieges in of all history. He describes the terrible days in which Jerusalem was under siege by the Roman armies, how starvation and famine stalked the streets of the city. People died by the hundreds and bodies were stacked up in the streets like cordwood. Mothers ate their own children in order to survive. But finally the city was overthrown. The walls were breached and the Romans entering in were so angered by the stubborn resistance of the Jews, they disobeyed the orders of their general and burned the temple, melting the gold and silver so it ran down between the cracks of the stones. In order to get at the metal, they pried the stones apart with bars and thus fulfilled our Lord’s prediction that not one stone would be left standing upon another.
Not only was this a fulfillment of what Gabriel told Daniel 500 years before Jesus was born, it was a frighteningly accurate fulfillment of what Jesus said just 40 years before it happened.
Luke 19:41-44, “As he approached the city of Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, ‘If you, even you, had only known on this day (we are going to see in a moment that the very day that Jesus spoke those words was the exact fulfillment of Daniel 9) what would bring you peace but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when you enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.’”
They didn’t recognize the time and they really had no excuse for not knowing the time, because it was contained in their very scriptures! Jesus was saying, “You have had the time spelled out for you for 500 years; why didn’t you recognize it?”
Now, with that historical foundation in place, let’s set this prophecy in our current context and see where we are now in relation to Daniel 9.
III. GOD’S PROPHECY EXAMINED (27)
When most people are exposed to this prophecy, they are blown away–it is truly mind-boggling. It is often overwhelming and a little confusing. If you are interested in really digging into it, Dr. Dwight Pentecost, longtime professor at Dallas Theological Seminary has published a 600-page book entitled Things to Come you can still buy in most Christian bookstores. I am always trying to communicate the Bible in a way that makes it easier to understand. I want a kid in the third grade to be able to appreciate this. So to make it clearer, I want to use three “clocks” or “stop-watches” to explain this remarkable prophecy. It will help you to see when God’s prophetic clock (or stopwatch) starts and stops.
1. From 444 B.C. (Nehemiah 2:1) until 33 A.D. is exactly 483 Jewish years!
PAST: Started 444 B.C. 69 “Sevens” (483 yrs). Stopped 33 A.D.–Israel’s Clock
God told Daniel exactly the timing of these events. He tells him when to start counting, when Artaxerxes gave the command to return and rebuild Jerusalem. Nehemiah 2:1 records Artaxerxes does this in the twentieth year of his reign. Secular historians tell us that was 444 B.C. (or 445 if you add a year because our calendar has no “zero” year). Daniel is told it would be 7 “sevens” plus 62 “sevens” from that date until the Anointed Prince (the Messiah) would be cut off or rejected, that happened in the spring of 33 A.D. (or some say 32 A.D., depending on where you put that pesky “zero year”). The interval between those two dates is 483 years– exactly! Wow! What an amazing prophecy!
Some of you are now scribbling on your notes, adding 444 and 33 together and you only come up with 477 years. That’s because you are counting years according to our current Gregorian calendar, which has 365-1/4 days per year and the Jewish lunar year only contained 360 days. Plus, you must factor in the calendar dating mistakes and leap years for the Jewish calendar. If you are interested in all the many permutations our current calendar has gone through over the past 2,500 years, you can read my message from December 26, 1999 “The Man Who Divided History.”
Let me show you how precise this actually is. Early in the Twentieth Century, respected British attorney, historian, and scientist, Sir Robert Anderson, the head of Scotland Yard, converted these dates. He determined from Nisan (April) of 444 B.C. until April of 33 A.D. was exactly 173,880 days (483 years x 360 days)! He took into account the difference between the Jewish calendar and our calendar; he also factored in the differential between the Julian and the Gregorian calendars, added days for leap years, and he came up with exactly 483 years! “What then was the length of the period intervening between the issuing of the decree to rebuild Jerusalem and the public advent of ‘Messiah the Prince?’ The interval contained exactly and the very day 173,880 days or seven times sixty-nine prophetic years of 360 days, the first 69 weeks of Gabriel’s prophecy.”(Robert Anderson, The Coming Prince p. 124ff.)
Wow, that is amazing! Why didn’t someone back then just read this prophecy before Jesus was born and calculate generally when He would be born? Many scholars believe that is exactly what happened. In Matthew 2, we read of the Wise Men from the East who came to Jerusalem seeking the King of the Jews. We sing about “We three kings” at Christmas time, but of course, the Bible never says there were only three. There was probably a large traveling entourage. These Magi (same word used in Daniel 14 times) were most likely from Persia, where Daniel was when he got this prophecy and it is likely in later years they read this passage and were able to understand the timing and so they traveled to Jerusalem following the star.
So if this is true, why don’t more people read it and believe in Jesus? I’ve said many times before, miracles don’t produce faith. Jesus performed amazing miracles in His day, and some of the people who saw His miracles crucified Him. Some people already have decided against Jesus and the Bible. Their response is “my mind is made up. Don’t confuse me with the facts.”
Ray Steadman wrote: “It is interesting to note that in the seventeenth century a very learned Jew published a book in which he set forth the claims of Jesus Christ to be the Jewish Messiah. In the preface to the book he told how he himself had been converted by listening to a debate between a knowledgeable Jew and a Christian convert from Judaism over the meaning of this passage in Daniel 9. The moderator of the debate was a learned rabbi, Simon Luzatto, and as the Christian pressed the claims of this passage home it became so clear that the passage was pointing to Jesus Christ that the Rabbi Luzatto closed the debate with these words: ‘Let us shut up our books, for if we go on examining the prophecy we shall all become Christians.’”
Not only is this a remarkable prediction about the coming Messiah, but remember, the prediction about Jerusalem being destroyed was exactly fulfilled as well. Look at the first clock and let’s try to understand it better. When the nation of Israel rejected Jesus, it was as if their prophetic clock “stopped.” It’s really more like a stopwatch and it won’t start “ticking again” until it is time for the final seven years to begin. Meanwhile:
2. The clock is “stopped” until the Church is complete
PRESENT: Started 33 A.D. (Jerusalem destroyed). Will stop: Rapture ?? A.D.–Church Clock (Age of Grace) Still Ticking
God’s countdown for Israel’s 490 years is on hold. Ever watched a space launch and they are counting down but sometimes they stop the countdown and say, “T Minus four minutes and holding?” That means they have stopped the countdown to fix a problem, then the countdown will be resumed.
God has His prophetic countdown on hold for now. The Israel clock is stopped but another clock started ticking when the Israel clock stopped and it is ticking away right now. It’s what we could call the Church clock. We are living in the great interval between the 69th “seven” and the final “seven.” Why? Our Father is a God of grace and a God of mercy and He wants millions of people to be added to His family. Right now, we are living in what Jesus called “the time of the Gentiles.” (Luke 21:24)
God’s original covenant was with the Jews but what the nation of Israel seemed to forget is God wanted to use them to be a blessing to all the people of the earth. God has been saving Gentiles for many years. This is what the Apostle Paul calls the “mystery of God” ten times in his letters. In Colossians 1 Paul says this “mystery” has been “kept hidden for ages and generations but is now disclosed to the saints.” (1:26) That means Moses didn’t understand it, Abraham didn’t understand it, King David or Daniel didn’t understand it but now we can understand it. What is the mystery? Romans 11:25 “I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.”
I encourage you to go back and re-study the messages I brought from Romans 9-11 last spring and all of this fits perfectly in place with God’s plan.
The church clock is like the old Timex commercial: It has taken a licking but is has kept on ticking! The church of Jesus has been persecuted and slammed, burned and beaten but it still thrives. You and I are blessed to be able to live during this wonderful interval of grace when anyone who puts their faith in Jesus will receive God’s mercy and forgiveness. But we need to understand the church clock will stop ticking sometime in the future. When? Look at Romans 11:25 again. When the full number of Gentiles has come in. That is, when the last individual of “God’s elect” is added to the Church. BOOM! That’s it, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, the Father will say to His Son, “Go, collect your Bride.” Jesus will come to gather His church, His Bride and take us to his Father’s House for the Wedding Party. That’s what we often call the rapture of the church; we will be snatched out of here. That’s what Paul means when he writes in I Thessalonians 4:17, “We who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.” Whew! I get excited just thinking about it!!!
At that precise moment, the church clock stops. In fact, Jesus claims that clock and takes it with Him! But the other clock, the one that stopped after 483 years will start ticking again, for how long? Seven years. Gabriel started talking about 490 years. 483 have already been fulfilled and the final seven years will take place in the future. What will happen when the clock starts again?
3. During the final seven years, Antichrist (vs. 27) will: Confirm and break a peace treaty, desecrate the Temple and be defeated when Jesus returns!
Look at the middle of verse 26, God is now talking about “the end.” The study of end times or the “last days” is called Eschatology. Let’s pick up halfway through verse 26 and read the rest of the chapter: “The end will come like a flood: war will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed. He will confirm a covenant with many for one seven. In the middle of the seven, he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing of the temple, he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.”
During this last seven-year period, terrible things will occur. That’s when this “prince who is to come” will appear to be a great man of peace. In chapters 2 and 7, Daniel learns this wicked ruler will come from the “revived Roman Empire?” Look at the identification in verse 26. It says, “The people of the ruler who will come.” We know from history, these were the Romans. We know from prophecy this Antichrist will most likely arise, or rule over this European Confederation that is already forming today, the area claimed by the ancient Roman Empire.
Harold Sevener, the Jewish Christian I quoted earlier, is now a leader in the Messianic Jewish movement. He is writing from his background in Orthodox Judaism. Concerning this passage, he writes: “After 70 A.D., Israel was dispersed from the land and scattered among the nations until 1948. No covenant was made with Israel during those years. However, now that Israel has been re-established as a nation, and now that Israel has control of Jerusalem, it is possible that such a covenant could now be made. This means that between the second period (the 62 ‘sevens’) and the last period of one ‘seven,’ almost 2,000 years of history has gone by. This span of age has been called the “church age.” It began at Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came and indwelt the disciples, and it will end with the rapture of the church, the Body of Christ.” (Daniel: God’s Man in Babylon, p. 164ff)
FUTURE: Starts: Rapture, Antichrist breaks treaty. Stops: Return of Jesus, Last “seven”–(7 years)–Tribulation Clock (Revelation 6-19)
Now obviously, there are two things that must be in existence for this prophecy to be fulfilled. First, there has to be a nation of Israel, with Jerusalem as its capitol. That happened in 1967. That leads some to believe this 70th “Seven” could begin soon. Secondly, there has to be a Jewish temple, but notice it says the Antichrist will set up this abomination on the “wing of the temple.” From the beginning, Jewish scholars have scratched their heads at that phrase. Why? Because there was no “wing” to Solomon’s Temple. There was no “wing” to Herod’s Temple. What do you think of when you think of a “wing” of a building, you think of an “annex” or an “outbuilding.” Very interesting.
God willing, I will travel again to Israel next week. It will be my eighth trip. One of our stops will be at a place that is in the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem less than 300 yards from the current Temple Mount. It is called The Temple Institute. This is an organization of Orthodox Jews who feel called by Yahweh to build the third Jewish temple. For them it is not a matter of IF the Jewish Temple will be rebuilt, but only the question of when and exactly where. They have completed the re-manufacture of all the implements of the Jewish temple according to the specifications found in the Old Testament (including the genetic engineering of a red heifer, thanks to the scientists at Texas A&M University.) A Jewish Rabbi says on the videotape they show they have actually found the Ark of the Covenant hidden from the Babylonians. Some claim that an “annex” of the Jewish Temple has already been constructed underneath the current Temple Mount. At this time, we don’t know if that’s true or not, but it’s pretty heavy stuff to consider!
The Antichrist, here called “the ruler that will come” is the same as the “little horn” we saw in Daniel 7 and 8. He is the “beast” of Revelation 13. He is the “man of sin” of II Thessalonians 2. He will appear to be a man of peace and will orchestrate an amazing peace agreement. It doesn’t say he will make a treaty; it says he will confirm a treaty. It may just be the implementation of one of the treaties you read about every day in the newspaper. At first, he will appear to be a man of peace, but then his true nature will be revealed.
For instance, just imagine with me for a moment some world leader comes along and is able to convince the Arab world to give up control of the Temple Mount so the Jews could rebuild their temple. That man would receive the Nobel Peace Prize and would be man of the year on Time Magazine. This future “ruler who is to come” will be that persuasive and effective. But Gabriel tells us in the middle of that seven-year period his true devilish nature will be revealed and he will set up something on the wing of the temple that will be an abomination which causes desolation. II Thessalonians 2:4 says he will set up an image of himself and demand he be worshiped. Jesus said in Matthew 24 to be on guard for that. If all of this still sounds a little off-the-wall to you, let me share with you what Billy Graham, perhaps the most respected Christian of our generation, says about these terrible last days: “While God has a plan for man’s good, the devil also has a master plan. He will bring to power a counterfeit world ruler or system that will establish a false utopia for an extremely short time. The economic and political problems of the world will seem to be solved. But after a brief rule the whole thing will come apart. During the reign of Antichrist tensions will mount, and once again the world will explode with a gigantic world war of overwhelming ferocity involving conflict and massacre on an unparalleled scale. This massive upheaval will be the world’s last war, the battle of Armageddon.” (Till Armageddon, p. 18)
What does this mean to you? Look at our second clock again. Right now we are in the time of God’s grace and mercy. You want to make sure you are saved, so when Jesus comes to claim His church you will be taken. You don’t want to be left behind during this terrible time of global turmoil and disaster. But the good news is always: God is in control!
CONCLUSION
The final part of this prophecy is–We win! Or better yet, Jesus wins! I used this illustration several years ago, but it’s one of my favorites. I’ve always loved to read. I grew up reading all the Hardy Boys mystery novels. I loved them! Frank and Joe Hardy were always getting into terrible situations where they risked life or limb. I would often be engrossed in one of these exciting situations when my mother would tell me to turn off my light and go to sleep. But wait! I couldn’t leave Joe and Frank hanging on the edge of a cliff with rocks below and a huge, angry bear above! So I would often just flip over to the last page and I would read where Joe and Frank Hardy were sitting down with their parents for a delicious meal–whew! I could shut the book and go to sleep, because I had read the last chapter and I knew they were going to be okay. I didn’t know all the details of how they were going to escape danger and death: I just knew they were!
Once again, God has given us a glimpse of the last chapter of His plan. Things are bad and they are going to get worse! But we have read the last chapter and we know that we are going to be sitting down with Jesus at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb! Jesus is going to return and deal with all the sin and wickedness that has plagued this planet. He will establish His Kingdom. He will come and set everything right! We don’t know all the details of how and when it will happen, but we can rest assured that God’s plan will be victorious!
