15 Jul (Daniel 9)

Daniel 9

This is one of the most important chapters in the whole Bible! If we understand what God is saying through Daniel, we will understand Revelation and the Gospels so much better!

(v.4) Daniel knows that the 70 years of servitude Jer 29:10 is about to be up, and what does Daniel do knowing that God's Word will happen like always? He prays! Even when we know that God is doing something in our lives we must praise Him and converse with Him in prayer.

(v.6) I point out to my kids that Daniel includes himself in the sinful state of the people, yet, the two men who were given great insight and power were Joseph and Daniel.

(v.21) As we read Daniel's emotional prayer, Gabriel arrives to give Daniel some prophecy from God. As we shall see in the Gospels, it is Gabriel who seems to be the messenger of the Cherubim, while Michael is the fighter.

This should also remind us that God will reveal things to us, if we are in steady and heartfelt prayer.

(v.23) Daniel is called beloved...there are only two individuals called this in the Bible, and they were both given vividly detailed last-days prophecies...Daniel and John. Daniel pens this book and especially this chapter with huge insight, and likewise by John with the book of Revelation.

(v.24) I remind my kids that in Jewish culture, and in the Bible, numbers represent things. The number seven typifies completion, so the seventy years of servitude by the Jews was a result of 70 years of ignoring the sabbath of the land. Lev 25:4

In Jewish culture, a week is not just seven days...they think of things in weeks...weeks of days, weeks of months, weeks of years. So, seventy weeks in this case is meaning seventy times seven years, which is 490 years. We need to look at this in years, not the typical week we in the Western world are used to.

This verse summarizes the total time of redemption for Israel...seventy weeks of years. In the end, Jesus will return and be anointed the Most Holy.

(v.25) The decree or command (depends upon what Bible you have) was by Artaxerxes Longimanus to rebuild the city and Temple on March 14, 445 BC. This started the six and sixty-two weeks of this verse...69 weeks.

Sir Robert Anderson, in 1894, calculated the days until Messiah the Prince comes, was exactly 177,880 days...April 6, 32AD the VERY DAY that Jesus proclaimed Himself King of the Jews and rode into Jerusalem on a donkey! Zech 9:9 and Luke 19:35

I take a moment to let that sink in with my kids...and myself! God had it documented, hundreds of years in advance, that the Persian king would proclaim the city to be rebuilt, and exactly to the day, the day the Messiah would come to save the world! This is exact mathematics, and it is one of many proofs that the Bible was written and inspired by God, since He is outside our time constraints.

Jesus wept over Jerusalem, since they didn't know the VERY DAY that God would provide for them their King. Luke 19:41-44

(v.26) Messiah shall be cut off...the Jewish Scriptures predict that the Messiah will be executed...just as Jesus was!

...but not for Himself...Jesus had to die, and for all of us! The Gospel is written in the Old Testament!

In 70AD, the Romans destroyed the sanctuary (the Temple), but the last part of this verse is considered an interval, since it hasn't happened yet. Much like in Revelation, where there is a pause before the judgement of God. Rev 12:6

This week before the 70th week is known as the Times of the Gentiles, where the Church is on the scene. After the Rapture, God will focus again on Israel, and the 70th week will be fulfilled. The reason for the delay, is that God has a number that He wants to have with Him forever from His Church...when that number is attained, the Rapture will happen, and He will send His Son down to earth again to bring His wrath and judgment!

(v.27) This last week (the 70th week) will be the time of the Tribulation. The Antichrist will make a covenant with Israel, let them build their Temple again, and rule the world by a world government.

Halfway through the seven years, the Antichrist will not let the Jews do their Temple sacrifices and practice their Mosaic laws, and then do blasphemy in the Temple itself. This will bring on the Great Tribulation for the last 3.5 years, and then Jesus will come back.

The more we understand this chapter, the more we will see the book of Revelation, the Gospels, and the whole Bible become clearer! If these things are still fuzzy, I suggest you read more on this, and make sure your kids see that God predicted all this a long time before they happened!