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This is my sixth message on the book of Daniel. I wonder which words or stories from Daniel have spoken to you so far. As I shared last time, for me it was Daniel’s prayer in chapter 6. 6:10 says, “Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.” I was challenged to turn my eyes to God three times a day, to bring my requests and thanks to Him.
Today’s chosen passage, which is also about a prayer of Daniel, contains a prophecy about the birth of our Savior Jesus. I was struck by the content and the depth of Daniel’s prayer. As well as by the prophecy of Jesus’ birth and his ministry, prophesied in this passage of apocalyptic Scripture.
Today we will read Daniel chapter 9. But first, let me briefly summarize chapter 8, which we read last time. Chapter 8 showed how the Antichrist will arise and try to obstruct worship of God at the Temple. 8:25 says, “He will cause deceit to prosper, and he will consider himself superior. When they feel secure, he will destroy many and take his stand against the Prince of princes. Yet he will be destroyed, but not by human power.” The one who defiles the sanctuary (8:13) will be judged by God. How tragic when worship is no longer given to the true God and when idols are worshipped instead. But the one who wages war against the Prince of Princes (that is, the God of Heaven) will not be forgiven. It is written that this person will not be destroyed by human hands. Historically, this person was thought to be King Antiochus Epiphanes. For a time he ruled Jerusalem and persecuted the people of God but was judged by God and died.
With that, let us learn from Daniel’s prayer in chapter 9. Before the prayer begins, we learn in verse 2 that the desolation of Jerusalem would last 70 years, according to the prophecy of Jeremiah the prophet. Daniel affirms the prophecy, then, as verse 3 says, he “turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes.” The basis of Daniel’s prayer was the belief that Jerusalem fell because of his sins and the sins of his people, including his ancestors. Let’s read from verse 4 to 9:
“Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments, we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws. We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our ancestors, and to all the people of the land. Lord, you are righteous, but this day we are covered with shame—the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far, in all the countries where you have scattered us because of our unfaithfulness to you. We and our kings, our princes and our ancestors are covered with shame, Lord, because we have sinned against you. The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him; we have not obeyed the Lord our God or kept the laws he gave us through his servants the prophets.”
Daniel represents all of the Jewish people in his prayer, acknowledging their sin as a people. He repents for not obeying the words of the prophets. He confesses that God is righteous while his people are shameful. He declares that mercy and forgiveness belong to God. What a rich prayer! And he does not put the blame only on his ancestors or only on other people.
Next, in verse 11 he confesses that his people have not obeyed the law of Moses and therefore Jerusalem was destroyed. As verse 13 says, “we have not sought the favor of the Lord our God by turning from our sins and giving attention to your truth.” Then his prayer shifts in verse 16: “Lord, in keeping with all your righteous acts, turn away your anger and your wrath from Jerusalem, your city, your holy hill. Our sins and the iniquities of our ancestors have made Jerusalem and your people an object of scorn to all those around us.” Continuing in verse 17, “Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For your sake, Lord, look with favor on your desolate sanctuary.”
May your face shine upon your sanctuary. This is a prayer that hits the mark, that understands the situation. His prayer asks God to make this sanctuary his temple again, to restore worship. And God answers this prayer for the restoration of worship. God’s answer comes in the promise of the birth of Jesus Christ and his revelation through Jesus’ ministry.
God’s answer was brought by the angel Gabriel. Gabriel said to Daniel first of all, “You are highly esteemed.” Then the angel gave him a vision about “seventy sevens.” Gabriel says in verse 24, “Seventy ‘sevens’ are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the Most Holy Place.”
In apocalyptic literature, the numbers 7 and 10 symbolize completion or perfection, and 70 is a multiplication of complete or perfect numbers. So, we can understand Gabriel’s words to mean that the vision will come to pass in God’s good time, in God’s appointed time. The vision actually speaks to the birth of Jesus Christ, the atonement he achieves on the Cross, redemption for the sins of humanity, and the end of sin. Transgression will be redeemed and eternal righteousness will come. The complete and perfect atonement for sins will be accomplished, through the Cross. Then a new era will begin. As the Anointed One, Jesus will bring God’s righteousness to Jerusalem. The sealing up of vision and prophecy mentioned in verse 24 can be understood as prophecy being fulfilled, the Old Testament era ending, and the New Testament era beginning. As the book of Daniel mentions earlier and we read about, there will be a rock cut out of the mountain but not by human hands (2:45; this is a prophecy about a new kingdom that will rise during the Roman era. Now in chapter 9, through the vision of seventy sevens Gabriel prophesies the work of our Savior Jesus Christ.
In verse 25, Gabriel says, “Know and understand this: From the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven ‘sevens,’ and sixty-two ‘sevens.’ It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble.” There is a clue here. Seven sevens and sixty-two sevens total 69 sevens or 483 days. If one “day” represents an actual year, then we are talking about 483 years. If we understand the command to rebuild Jerusalem as taking place in Ezra’s time (see Ezra 7:11-26), that would be about 457 BC. If we add 483 years to that, we arrive at the year 26 AD, which is around the time Jesus’ public ministry began. This is one way we can interpret the vision of 70 sevens and 69 sevens. There are various interpretations of this passage that you can find online, so feel free to learn more by looking it up online. But one thing that we should understand is that until the time prophesied by Gabriel comes to pass, truth will be hidden. Many things will still be unknown.
Moving on to verse 26: “After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be put to death and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed.” The Anointed One, the Messiah, will be put to death—this is a prophecy of Jesus’ death on the Cross. And then, it says “the people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary”; this could be the destruction of Jerusalem in the year 70 AD.
In trying to interpret these visions, I would like to stop at this point. I believe the important thing we should understand from Daniel is that the birth and the redemptive work of our Savior was prophesied. And our response is important: that we believe Jesus Christ is our Savior, that we surrender our lives to Him, and that we live together with Jesus. Jesus is the one who atoned for the sins of humanity, who brings an end to sin, and justifies our lives with his righteousness. I am justified by faith in Jesus. Let us declare that each day. And since we are justified by his righteousness in the eyes of God, let us live with joy.
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