8.2- Discussion of Daniel 9, verses 25 and 26

>>>Verse 25: Basically, at the time from 536-457 B.C., the Israelites were a group of people with no real government, city, or well defined country. It wasn't until Artaxerxes came to the throne in 464 B.C., that we actually see them starting to rebuild the city. The time the command is given to rebuild Jerusalem occurred in approximately 457 BC. See Nehemiah 2 verse 1-8, where we read:  “One day four months later, when Emperor Artaxerxes was dining, I took the wine to him. He had never seen me look sad before, so he asked, “Why are you looking so sad…………...“What is it that you want?” …… and then I said to the emperor, “……..  let me go to the land of Judah, to the city where my ancestors are buried, so that I can rebuild the city.” The emperor, with the empress sitting at his side, approved my request…………….. I asked also for a letter to the keeper of the royal forests, instructing him to supply me with timber for the gates of the fort that guards the Temple, for the city walls, and for the house I was to live in. The emperor gave me all I asked for, because God was with me”. The rebuilding of the city took 49 years. The restoration is finished in approximately 408 BC, 49 years later. (-457 + 49= - 408).    

62 “yearweeks” later (=434 years in reality,-> 62 times 7= 434), Jesus Christ arrives as Messiah in the year 27 AD, approximately.

During all of the years that Jerusalem existed, until the arrival of the Messiah, the Jews have been suffering under the Persians, the Greek, the Seleucids, The Ptolemy’s, the Maccabees, the Romans, such that this has been “a time of troubles” as is mentioned at the end of this verse.

>>> Verse 26: The 69 “yearweeks” bring us at the time of Jesus’ death on the cross.  This is the time mentioned in this verse saying that :  God's chosen leader, (the Messiah), will be killed unjustly”, and there is nothing that can be said against Him.

See John 15 verse 25: “This, however, was bound to happen so that what is written in their Law may come true: They hated me for no reason at all.” And also Isaiah 53 verse 5: “But because of our sins he was wounded, beaten because of the evil we did” 

The destruction of Jerusalem took place in 70 AC., however not without God’s permission, See Romans 8 verse 20: For creation was condemned to lose its purpose, not of its own will, but because God willed it to be so. Yet there was the hope……” This is the hope for the New Jerusalem. 

8.1- Discussion of Daniel 9, verses 20-24

>>> Verses 20-23: From the moment that Daniel began to plead with God, He already answered him. God wants to be prayed to. See Ephesians 6 verse 18: “Do all this in prayer, asking for God's help. Pray on every occasion, as the Spirit leads. For this reason keep alert and never give up; pray always for all God's people”.

In the beginning of verse 20 it says: “I (Daniel) went on praying”….  Our prayers are as “gold bowls filled with incense”, to His honor. See Rev. 5 verse 8: “As he did so, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each had a harp and gold bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of God's people”. See also Rev. 8 verses 3 and 4: “Another angel, who had a gold incense container, came and stood at the altar. He was given a lot of incense to add to the prayers of all God's people and to offer it on the gold altar that stands before the throne. The smoke of the burning incense went up with the prayers of God's people from the hands of the angel standing before God”

Verse 21 says that it was the “time for the evening sacrifice to be offered”. God always acts at the time of - (and on the basis of) - the evening sacrifice. This of course speaks of Golgotha, where Jesus died towards the evening. See also 1 Kings 18 verse 29: “They kept on ranting and raving until the middle of the afternoon; but no answer came, not a sound was heard”. Only after that, in the evening, Elijah set about repairing the altar of the Lord.

>>> Verse 24: The 70 years, about which Daniel prayed in verse 2, and where it says that he “was studying the sacred books and thinking about the seventy years that Jerusalem would be in ruins “, are now being explained by Gabriel. It is important to understand the relation between verse 2 and verses 24 – 27: Because, as the 70 years of exile relate to the 490 years of iniquity (not celebrated Sabbath rests), these 70 years also speak about the coming 490 years- (70 “sevens” of yearweeks)- , in which all the iniquities are being reconciled. These iniquities include those of the whole nation of Israel, and not only the Jews. In this verse it says: “Sin will be forgiven and eternal justice established”. This is prophecy of the time when all sin will be ended and the eternal kingdom of the Messiah is being installed. 

8.0- Gabriel Explains the Prophecy

In Daniel 9 verses 20 through 27 we read:

20 I went on praying, confessing my sins and the sins of my people Israel and pleading with the Lord my God to restore his holy Temple.   21 While I was praying, Gabriel, whom I had seen in the earlier vision, came flying down to where I was. It was the time for the evening sacrifice to be offered. 22 He explained, “Daniel, I have come here to help you understand the prophecy. 23 When you began to plead with God, he answered you. He loves you, and so I have come to tell you the answer. Now pay attention while I explain the vision. 

24 “Seven times seventy years is the length of time God has set for freeing your people and your holy city from sin and evil. Sin will be forgiven and eternal justice established, so that the vision and the prophecy will come true, and the holy Temple will be rededicated.

25 Note this and understand it: From the time the command is given to rebuild Jerusalem until God's chosen leader comes, seven times seven years will pass. Jerusalem will be rebuilt with streets and strong defenses, and will stand for seven times sixty-two years, but this will be a time of troubles. 26 And at the end of that time God's chosen leader will be killed unjustly.  The city and the Temple will be destroyed by the invading army of a powerful ruler. The end will come like a flood, bringing the war and destruction which God has prepared. 27 That ruler will have a firm agreement with many people for seven years, and when half this time is past, he will put an end to sacrifices and offerings. The Awful Horror will be placed on the highest point of the Temple and will remain there until the one who put it there meets the end which God has prepared for him.”

7.3 – Discussion of Daniel 9 verses 12-19

>>> Verses 12 and 13: Verse 12 explains that God punished Jerusalem more severely than any other city on earth.   It says in verse 13 that God gave them the punishment described in the Law of Moses. We can see what this means in Leviticus 26 verses 18, where it says: ……….”I will increase your punishment seven times”, verse 24: “……..and punish you seven times harder than before”, verse 28: “…………again make your punishment seven times worse than before”, verse 34/35: “Then the land will enjoy the years of complete rest that you would not give it; it will lie abandoned and get its rest while you are in exile in the land of your enemies”. Several times we see mentioned the term “seven times” This refers to the number of 7 times 70 not celebrated Sabbath rests, or 490 years.   See also Daniel 9 verse 24: “Seven times seventy years is the length of time God has set for freeing your people and your holy city from sin and evil”. God Himself brings the time of calamity over His disobedient people.

>>> Verse 14-19: Daniel recognizes that God’s justness is also in his punishment. He prays according to the will of God and in accordance with Leviticus 26 verse 40-42: “But your descendants will confess their sins and the sins of their ancestors, who resisted me and rebelled against me, and caused me to turn against them and send them into exile in the land of their enemies. At last, when your descendants are humbled and they have paid the penalty for their sin and rebellion, I will remember my covenant with Jacob and with Isaac and with Abraham, and I will renew my promise to give my people the land”. Reading these verses, Daniel trusted that the Lord would remember the covenant He made. This is the same as Moses did in Exodus 32 verses 9-14, where it says: “I (the Lord) know how stubborn these people are. Now, don't try to stop me….. and I am going to destroy them…...”But Moses pleaded with the Lord his God and said, “Lord, …………..change your mind and do not bring this disaster on your people.   Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Remember the solemn promise you made to them to give them as many descendants as there are stars in the sky and to give their descendants all that land you promised would be their possession forever.” So the Lord changed his mind and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened”.

We see that the covenant God made with Abraham is being referred to repeatedly, as the bases for God’s decision to forgive his people.

7.2 – Discussion of Daniel 9 verses 4 – 11

>>> Verses 4-6: Daniel prays for Israel on the basis of God’s covenant with them: The covenant with Abraham, see Gen. 12verse 7: “The Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “This is the country that I am going to give to your descendants.” Then Abram built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him”, and Gen. 15 verse 18: “Then and there the Lord made a covenant with Abram. He said, “I promise to give your descendants all this land from the border of Egypt to the Euphrates River”. This covenant was broken by the people from Israel.

>>> Verses 7-11: Daniel recognizes that God always does what is right and that all of Israel refused to listen to what He said.  It should be noted that Daniel includes all of Israel, comprising the ten tribes. They had been deported to Assyria already in around 722 BC, and they have never returned until today. See 2 Kings 17 verses 22 and 23: “They followed Jeroboam and continued to practice all the sins he had committed, until at last the Lord banished them from his sight, as he had warned through his servants the prophets that he would do. So the people of Israel were taken into exile to Assyria, where they still live”.

The end of their exile will be at the same time as the time of the conversion of Judah. See Ezekiel 37 verses 15-24: “…….I will unite them into one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. They will have one king to rule over them, and they will no longer be divided into two nations or split into two kingdoms………… “ And also 1 Kings 11 verses 1-13: “…...And I will not take the whole kingdom away from him; instead, I will leave him one tribe for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city I have made my own”. We see that the division, as decided by God, will be over at the end of times, simultaneously with the conversion of Judah.  Also we can conclude that Daniel knew of this division of the 10 tribes and Judah with Benjamin, in two parts. 

7.1 – Discussion of Daniel 9 verses 1- 3

>>> Verse1: We are in 538 BC. Darius the Mede was the smaller horn from Daniel 8 verse 3. Darius the Mede ruled over the kingdom of the Chaldeans, the Neo-Babylonian Empire, which began in 626 BC and ended in 539 BC.     

The last king of the Babylonian Empire (Belshazzar) is overthrown by the Median and Persian armies in 539BC by King Cyrus.

>>> Verse 2: What Daniel does is to search for insight in God’s plan with his people, Israel, and with Jerusalem. See Psalms 119 verse 24: “Your instructions give me pleasure; they are my advisers”. And verse 33: “Teach me, Lord, the meaning of your laws, and I will obey them at all times”. Also see verses 35, 57, 59, 105 and many more. Daniel understood from the “sacred books” that the reason of their exile was their sin. The direct reason is as described in 2 Chron. 36 verse 21: “And so what the Lord had foretold through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: “The land will lie desolate for seventy years, to make up for the Sabbath rest that has not been observed.” And also Jer.25 verse 11: “This whole land will be left in ruins and will be a shocking sight, and the neighboring nations will serve the king of Babylonia for seventy years”. Together with this, Daniel understands also that, after the 70 years are over, the Lord will bring his people back to their country, as it is written in  Jer.29 verses 10-14: “The Lord says, ‘When Babylonia's seventy years are over, I will show my concern for you and keep my promise to bring you back home. I alone know the plans I have for you, plans to bring you prosperity and not disaster, plans to bring about the future you hope for. Then you will call to me. You will come and pray to me, and I will answer you.   You will seek me, and you will find me because you will seek me with all your heart. Yes, I say, you will find me, and I will restore you to your land. I will gather you from every country and from every place to which I have scattered you, and I will bring you back to the land from which I had sent you away into exile. I, the Lord, have spoken”.

The “Sabbath rest”, was the requirement of the Law of Moses that every seventh year the land was not to be farmed. This served as witness of their faith. Israel’s wish, to live in the same manner as the nations around them, (without the Sabbath rest) showed their unbelief.   The interruption of the “Sabbath rest” started in 1096BC, when Saul was anointed to be the first king over Israel. Since that time there is no indication of any Sabbath rest. And exactly 490 years later (490=70*7), occurs the first exile of the Jews to Babylon. This happens under king Jehoiakim, in 606 BC. It is now almost 536BC. It is with this view in mind, (the expectance of the end of the 70 years ), that Daniel directs his prayers to God.

>>> Verse 3: The sin of disbelief and separation from God by his people is now being confessed by Daniel, who takes the role of priest and intercessor for all his people. He begs for God's mercy. Similar intercessions can also be found in Nehemiah 9: 32-37, and in Ezra 9, verses 5-15: ……..  I got up from where I had been grieving, and still wearing my torn clothes, I knelt in prayer and stretched out my hands to the Lord my God. I said, “O God, I am too ashamed to raise my head in your presence. Our sins pile up higher than our heads; they reach as high as the heavens…. “ … And, of course, the example of our Great Intercessor: Jesus-Christ. 

7.0-  Daniel Prays for His People

In Daniel 9 verses 1 through 19 we read:

“1 Darius the Mede, who was the son of Xerxes, ruled over the kingdom of Babylonia. 2 In the first year of his reign I was studying the sacred books and thinking about the seventy years that Jerusalem would be in ruins, according to what the Lord had told the prophet Jeremiah. 3 And I prayed earnestly to the Lord God, pleading with him, fasting, wearing sackcloth, and sitting in ashes.

4 I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed the sins of my people.

I said, “Lord God, you are great, and we honor you. You are faithful to your covenant and show constant love to those who love you and do what you command.

5 “We have sinned, we have been evil, we have done wrong. We have rejected what you commanded us to do and have turned away from what you showed us was right. 6 We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our rulers, our ancestors, and our whole nation. 7 You, Lord, always do what is right, but we have always brought disgrace on ourselves. This is true of all of us who live in Judea and in Jerusalem and of all the Israelites whom you scattered in countries near and far because they were unfaithful to you. 8 Our kings, our rulers, and our ancestors have acted shamefully and sinned against you, Lord. 9 You are merciful and forgiving, although we have rebelled against you. 10 We did not listen to you, O Lord our God, when you told us to live according to the laws which you gave us through your servants the prophets. 11 All Israel broke your laws and refused to listen to what you said. We sinned against you, and so you brought on us the curses that are written in the Law of Moses, your servant. 12 You did what you said you would do to us and our rulers. You punished Jerusalem more severely than any other city on earth, 13 giving us all the punishment described in the Law of Moses. But even now, O Lord our God, we have not tried to please you by turning from our sins or by following your truth. 14 You, O Lord our God, were prepared to punish us, and you did, because you always do what is right, and we did not listen to you.

 15 “O Lord our God, you showed your power by bringing your people out of Egypt, and your power is still remembered. We have sinned; we have done wrong. 16 You have defended us in the past, so do not be angry with Jerusalem any longer. It is your city, your sacred hill.  All the people in the neighboring countries look down on Jerusalem and on your people because of our sins and the evil our ancestors did. 17 O God, hear my prayer and pleading. Restore your Temple, which has been destroyed; restore it so that everyone will know that you are God. 18 Listen to us, O God; look at us and see the trouble we are in and the suffering of the city that bears your name. We are praying to you because you are merciful, not because we have done right. 19 Lord, hear us. Lord, forgive us. Lord, listen to us, and act! In order that everyone will know that you are God, do not delay! This city and these people are yours.”