God's
Ultimate Program for Israel
What you are about to read is a
reflection on one of the most important chapters in the Book of Daniel, and one
of the most remarkable passages in all of the Bible. Its dual theme of prayer
and prophecy is like no other portion of God's Word: Daniel's prayer stands as
a model for any person serious about seeking the Lord and His holiness in his
or her life; while the prophecy of the seventy weeks contains the most precise
information in Scripture that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah promised to the
children of Israel through their own prophets.
DANIEL 9:1-2
Daniel is starting to do his math,
and he's doing it by looking at God's timetable for the restoration of Israel.
He reads in Jeremiah 25:11-12,
"And this whole land shall
be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these
nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. And it shall come to
pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of
Babylon, and that nation, saith the LORD, for their
iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations."
Daniel certainly turned to his
Hebrew manuscripts to study 2 Chronicles 36, where he observed that the Jews,
because they failed to protect their land (breaking seventy sabbatical years)
would be punished for a period equal to their disobedience. The more Daniel
read, the more excited he must have felt, because he calculated that the seventy
years of judgment on his people had almost come to an end (the captivity of the
Jews had started in 605 B.C. and now it was the year 538 B.C.) and that
the Jews would soon be allowed to return to their home. But we are forced to
say, "Not so fast, Daniel. You have only a partial understanding of what
is still to come." And it is this still-to-come end-time information that
is the essence of chapter nine:
Daniel's
Prayer
Daniel begins his long prayer with a
contrite and broken heart as he addresses God as Adonai-Sovereign Ruler. The
word Adonai shows Daniel's recognition of God's absolute authority and
power, a fitting expression for Daniel to use as he begins his litany of
confession and plea for personal and national forgiveness.
However, in verse 2, Daniel suddenly
changes his name for God and begins to use the term Yahweh-which refers
to God as a gracious, covenant-keeping God, holy, just, righteous, and loving.
He uses the name Yahweh seven times, in verses 2, 4, 10, 13, 14, and 20.
It's amazing that Daniel would use God's holy name in the first place because
the Jews never pronounced the name of God because their reverence for the
almighty God was so great.
That's why they used what is called
the tetragrammaton,
Y-H-W-H-four letters that cannot be pronounced, and only become the word Yahweh
when the vowels a and e are added. As
we study Daniel's prayer it will become obvious why he used the term Yahweh,
particularly as it relates to God as a covenant-keeping God, the topic which
most interested Daniel since he'd now become a one-person spokesman for the
plight of the Jews and was relying on the trustworthiness of the most high God
to keep His promises. However, as we said before, Daniel still did not have all
the information to work out all the details of God's plan because most of the
predictions would only be revealed at the time of the end (Daniel 12:4).
As Daniel bowed before the Lord, his
heart was filled with sadness for his own sin and the sins of his people. He
fasted, wore sackcloth, and put ashes on his body to show his humble spirit. He
was alone with God. No distractions. No interruptions. I encourage you to read
and reread Daniel's prayer, because it is a model for any Christian. Even though
Daniel was an upright, faithful, godly man, he still confessed that he had also
sinned.
Because of his tender heart toward
God and a conscience that could be quickly and easily touched, he was unusually
responsive when he heard the word of the Lord. Being sensitive to the Spirit of
God also increased his sensitivity to the predicament of his people, the Jews,
as he recited the various ways in which they rebelled against God, failed to
obey His voice, refused to walk in His laws, and chose not to obey His commands.
Daniel recognized that for these reasons, the curse had been poured out upon
them.
The
Diaspora
The Jews had been scattered across
the world. What was once their home had become the domicile of heathen kingdoms
and pagan rulers. Daniel knew the reason for this
dispersion- the Diaspora. Deuteronomy 11:26-28 states,
"Behold,
I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; A blessing, if ye obey the
commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you this day: And a curse,
if ye will not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside out
of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have
not known."
Not only did the Jews refuse to obey
the Ten Commandments found in Exodus 20, but they'd also turned their backs on
the 613 other commandments given to the people of Israel. As Daniel reflects on
the history of how the Jews got mired in their present dilemma, he continues to
hope and pray that Yahweh will end the seventy years of punishment on
schedule (as he, Daniel, saw it), and bring peace and relief to their sinful,
troubled hearts.
Daniel's
Prayer Is Also Personal
Daniel is not revising history. He
is seeing history as it is, asserting that God was righteous for what He did to
the Jews, admitting that we-Daniel and his people-were the culprits ... we were
the transgressors . . . we didn't obey God's voice . .. we failed to keep His commandments. His prayer was not a
whining exercise to get God to overlook the past sins of His people, but a
prayer of love and intercession for national and personal forgiveness, and a
contrite heart, reminiscent of the words of the psalmist who prayed in Psalm
51:10,
"Create
in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me."
Daniel refused to offer excuses for
Israel's behavior. Again, I urge you to read this prayer over and over, because
each time you allow Daniel's heart of confession to intertwine with your own,
you will be blessed and encouraged in your own Christian walk. Unfortunately,
for many modern Christians the idea of true and honest confession is a lost
spiritual art. But unless we recapture this spirit of humility, face up to what
we've done to distance ourselves from God, and choose to make amends, our own
spirits will remain shallow and insensitive to the work that God wants to do in
our lives. That's why it is always in our spiritual best interest to spend time
reading and applying such verses as Psalm 66:18-20:
"If
I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me: But verily God hath
heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer. 0 Blessed
be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me."
These verses are amplified by what
we read in Isaiah 5 9:1-2:
"Behold,
the LORD's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have
separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you,
that he will not hear."
There is a direct correlation
between our unconfessed iniquities and God's blessing for our lives-to the
extent that God cannot even hear our cries if repentance is sidetracked. Daniel
knew this. That's why his prayer is so powerful, a model for us to follow
today. Daniel walked close to God, and the closer he walked, the more he saw
the imperfections in himself and in his people because the Spirit of God lived
in him.
Daniel 9:20-27
The Third Heaven
As Daniel prayed, the angel Gabriel
suddenly appeared before him, offering comfort and understanding to Daniel's
troubled heart. Gabriel's purpose was to bring an end to Daniel's inner
confusion by imparting to him a new revelation from God. The angel began his
conversation by saying something you and I should want to hear more than any
other phrase in our language: "For thou art greatly loved." Daniel
was concluding his prayer when he was surprised by joyous words from God. To
have a greater appreciation of this scenario, consider this: Gabriel had been
in the third heaven (2 Corinthians 12:2-3). That's billions of light years
away-farther than our minds can grasp-and yet Gabriel now stands before Daniel,
arriving in a flash-in nanoseconds.
Here's just how far Gabriel flew to
arrive at Daniel's side. We're told that our astronauts would have to travel
for forty thousand years at terrific speeds to get to the first star. But that
would be just the first leg of their inter-galactic journey if they traveled
onward to the third heaven-God's throne. There are billions, trillions,
quadrillions, and quintillions of stars beyond that as we go higher and higher.
To confound us yet furthest
scientists have now discovered a new quasar that is some eighty-two trillion
billion miles out in space. And it becomes even more mind-boggling. We know
that light travels at a rate of 186,000 miles per second, so when a scientist
talks about a "light year," that's the speed light travels at that
velocity for twelve consecutive months, or a distance of six trillion miles.
Now stay with me. You and I could
travel thirteen and one-half billion light years and still not arrive at the
third heaven-God's throne. It's incomprehensible. Just as Gabriel moved from
the dimension of the third heaven to Daniel's side in an instant, so will we be
able to move, at the speed of light, in our glorified bodies as we sweep
through space-identical to the speed angels traverse
the heavenlies.
The Significance of the Seventy
Weeks
In this new revelation delivered by
Gabriel, Daniel learned, sadly, that God would continue to punish Israel for at
least seventy more sevens of years beyond the end of the Babylonian captivity-a
number that gives us, as noted earlier, the only Old Testament prophecy that
speaks of the precise hour of Messiah's first coming. It's fascinating that it
was to be Gabriel who, several centuries later, would also deliver the good
news of Messiah's conception and birth to a young virgin by the name of Mary
(Luke 1:26-3 8).
We now come to one the most
important prophecies in all of Scripture-a prediction to be applied exclusively
to Israel and to the holy city of Jerusalem. First, let's look at the meaning
of the phrase, "Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people." The
amount of actual time covered by this prophecy is 490 years-literally, seventy
sevens. The question from scholars has always been, Are
these 490 "units" of time years, days, months, or weeks? The math
only works if these units are seen as "years." So for this prophecy
to be fulfilled, Messiah would have to arrive-for the first time- before the
490 "units" would end. Remember that the 490 years began in 445 B.C.
Now this question: What was the
purpose of the 70 weeks of chastisement? The Jews had a Sabbath day which they
were to honor by law. They had the freedom to work for six days, and then rest
on the Sabbath, just as God had patterned His work of creation. He created the
world in six days (Genesis 1:31), and rested on the seventh day (Genesis 2:2).
However, the Jews not only had
sabbatical days on the seventh day of the week, but they also celebrated
sabbatical years. According to Leviticus 25:1-7 they were to let their land lie
fallow-unused, unplanted-every seventh year. But in their greed they said in
their hearts something to the effect, "This is not a very good deal for
us. We're going to lose money, so let's not listen to God. We'll go ahead and
plow and plant and harvest on the seventh year, regardless of what God or the
law tells us to do."
Because of their spiritual
treachery, the Jewish people paid dearly for their 490 years of disobedience.
God chastened the Jews by sending them into cruel bondage for the equivalent of
seventy sabbatical years-a total of 490 years- according to the 360-day Jewish
calendar.
Jeremiah predicted this judgment of
seventy years falling on the Jews in Jeremiah 25:9-11 when he wrote:
Behold, I will send and take all the
families of the north, saith the LORD, and
Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against
this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations
round about, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and
an hissing, and perpetual desolations. Moreover I will take from them the voice
of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice
of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the candle. And
this whole land shall be a desolation, and an
astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.
The die was now cast. Israel would
be punished during those seventy weeks (490 years)-a punishment that would be
administered because of the following reasons (Daniel 9:24):
At this point I'm going to quote a
verse that is the greatest prophecy ever recorded, proving that God alone could
have written this book. Why? Because we now come to the exact
day that is prophesied in these texts. Verse 25 reads, "Know
therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to
restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven
weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the
wall, even in troublous times."
Let's review the significance of
this verse in the context of Nehemiah 2:1-8 where we learn that some of the
Jews who had visited their homeland were disturbed because their nation was in
such disarray. That's why they requested that the city of Jerusalem-including
the wall-be rebuilt. With that background, let's consider Nehemiah 2:1 to
investigate the chronology of dates mentioned. "And it came to pass in
the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king. . . ."
The Encyclopedia Britannica says this king came to power in 465 B.C. But now it's
Artaxerxes' twentieth year of rule, which takes us down to 445 B.C. Here's the
arithmetic: 465 minus 20 = 445 B.C. This is the month Nisan, but no date is
given. That is not, however, an issue because Jewish custom tells us that
whenever there is no date we are to assume it is always the first day. This
means it is the first day of Nisan, 445 B.C. Translated into our modern
calendar, that's March 14, 445 B.C. That is the beginning point of the
rebuilding of the wall and city of Jerusalem-a task that had to be completed in
"seven weeks" or, literally, forty-nine years. And it happened right
on schedule.
King
Jesus Will Reign
However, there is a second part to
this prophecy that refers to the presentation of Jesus Christ as King. Note
there are two princes in this text: The first is Jesus, who will reign as the
Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). The second prince is a Roman general who invades
Jerusalem. Here, we are talking about the first Prince-Jesus Christ-who will be
"cut off" after seven weeks and sixty-two weeks, for a total of
sixty-nine weeks, or 483 years.
Now, we take the 483 years and
multiply it by the Jewish method of reckoning-which is 360 days in a year. Do
you know what 483 times 360 is? 173,880 days. From the
date that Nehemiah said, "You may go ahead and rebuild your wall and
Jerusalem" (March 14, 445 B.C.) to the day that Jesus Christ rode into
Jerusalem on the foal of a donkey (April 6, 32 A.D.) exactly 173,880 days had
passed. Now do you believe that prophecy is right on? If the Jews had only
studied their Old Testament prophecy, they would have known that Jesus was
their Messiah.
This is why Jesus said to His
people, the Jews, in Luke 19:42, "If thou hadst
known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy
peace! but now they are hidden from thine eyes."
Day 173,880 was the crowning day, and Jewish minds did not grasp it-nor did
they accept their Messiah. If God could prove-as we've just outlined-the
precise arrival of Jesus into Jerusalem, is there any question that the
remainder of the prophecies in the Book of Daniel will be fulfilled?
As we come to the close of this most
important prophetic chapter in the Bible, we also need to deal with the content
of verse 26 that speaks of the prince who will come to destroy the city and the
sanctuary. This prince was Vespasian and his son Titus-Roman generals who in 70
A.D. marched on Jerusalem and murdered hundreds of thousands of Jews, again
destroying the city.
Here we see a similarity between the
treachery of this father and son and an earlier tyrant Antiochus Epiphanes,
because all three are types of the Antichrist who will rise to power in the
last days. But here Vespasian and Titus are highlighted because they are Roman
princes. Later, the Antichrist will come as an international leader out of a
revived Roman Empire that is presently expanding and wielding influence just as
Daniel predicted. For this and many more reasons-all documented by God's
Word-we are dogmatic when we say that our era of time could definitely be what
Daniel called "the time of the end."
Now what about the apparent 'gap'
that exists between verses 26 and 27-a gap of some two thousand years? This is
an important period of time, because without it, we would be forced to see
these events taking place within a limited period of 490 days, instead of 490
years. The former would be impossible. There are skeptics who scoff that a gap
between these verses is a man-made theory. However, the Bible states
emphatically that there will be a period of time-a gap-between Jesus' first and
second coming. Isaiah 9:6 says,
"Unto us a child is born"
(the virgin birth); "unto us a Son is given and the government shall be
upon his shoulder" (the government was not upon His shoulder the first
time He came to Jerusalem).
When Jesus Christ comes again-the
second time-that's when the government will be upon His shoulder, as He rules
and reigns as King of Kings and Lord of Lords for a period of one thousand
years (Revelation 20:4).
By the time we reach verse 27, the
Antichrist is already in full power, and Daniel's seventieth week is in effect.
It begins when this evil one confirms his peace contract with Israel. This is
the start of the seventieth week, and the beginning of the seven year period of
Tribulation. The Antichrist deceives a gullible world by confirming the
covenant with many-first with Israel- for one week, one shabua-or
seven years.
The information I am about to
present is vitally important. If the first sixty-nine weeks, or shabuas, total 483 years or 173,880 days on
the Jewish calendar annually, and this prophecy was fulfilled in every detail
on the final day-then the final week or Hebrew shabua,
the last seven-year period of 2,520 days, will also be fulfilled right up to
the exact moment.
That's why Revelation 11:2 and 13:5 mention forty-two months, and Revelation 11:3 and 12:6 cite
1,260 days as one-half of the Tribulation period. Then in the middle of that shabua-after forty-two months- the Antichrist
causes the sacrifices to cease. Antiochus Epiphanes, a predecessor and
forerunner of the soon-coming global dictator, previously did this centuries ago when he stomped out the Jewish sacrifices
and desecrated the Jewish temple.
The
Rebuilding of the Temple
How could such an act be perpetuated
in our day without the existence of a temple? Here's the answer. Israelites are
talking about rebuilding the temple in our day. I encourage you to read your
newspapers and weekly magazines with spiritual eyes in the days ahead because
even now building materials are being gathered and temple utensils created for
the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem. When the new temple is erected, all
will go relatively well for a while, but then, midway into the Tribulation
hour, the Antichrist will sit proudly on that temple throne and claim to be the
world's god (2 Thessalonians 2:4). The false prophet will create an image in
the likeness of the Antichrist (Revelation 13:15) and all mankind will be
commanded to fall down and worship the beast of the revived Roman Empire
mentioned in Daniel 7:8-just as Nebuchadnezzar commanded the people of Babylon
to bow down and worship him.
If, during the Tribulation period,
the people do not bow to the Antichrist and give him full allegiance, they will
be killed (Revelation 13:15; 20:4-5). When the pagan tyrant Antiochus Epiphanes
set up his pagan deities in the place of the most high God, and put a sow on
the temple altar, it was called "the abomination that maketh
desolate" (Daniel 11:31; 12:11). Now, more than two thousand years later,
the Antichrist will also set up an image called "the abomination of
desolation" according to the statements of Jesus in Matthew 24:15 and Mark
13:14. Why? Because he is defiling God's holy temple.
The Jews revere their holy temple-the Antichrist mocks it and them by breaking
one of the Jews' commandments concerning the placing of an idol in the temple
(Exodus 20:4-5). At this point their long sought-for temple again becomes
desolate because of the abominable idol therein.
The
Calm before the Storm
Jesus, in Matthew 24:15-21, says:
When ye therefore shall see the
abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy
place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the
mountains: Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:
Neither let him which is in the
field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto
them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But pray ye
that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: For then shall be great tribulation, such as
was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
Why flee? Because Satan's final
forty-two months are about to be unleashed globally, and he's filled with wrath
(Revelation 12:12). Then Russia marches and the abomination of desolation (or
image) is set up in the temple during this final three-and-one-half-year period
known as the Great Tribulation (Revelation 7:14). It is the time of the end
(Daniel 11:40; 12:4).
This revelation and interpretation
of the vision delivered to Daniel by the angel Gabriel was a two-edged sword:
one of gloom and doom; the other of hope. Gloom, because the Antichrist is
about to appear. Hope, because Christ destroys him with the brightness of His
coming (2 Thessalonians 2:8). Today, we are seeing what can only be called
"the calm before the storm." History is not yet complete, but the
handwriting is on the wall for those who have eyes to see.