Chapter 9
(The seventy weeks chapter)
In the first two verses we get a time stamp - first year of Darius, son of Ahasuerus. Then Daniel says he has figured out that Jeremiah prophesied that Judah would be in captivity for 70 years. Daniel figures it out. It is believed this was written in 539 BC. Note also that this is believed to be the use of Darius as a title, in this case for Cyrus, whom God allowed to be made king of the Chaldeans.
2022 - In vss 3-15, Daniel makes confession for Israel and for himself. He seems to be acting as a High Priest, and approaching God himself and humbling himself and the nation before God.
Daniel prays that as this time grows near, God would reveal the next step in his plan for Israel. Daniel begins by confessing all the sins of the people of Israel, their leaders, their princes and their kings. Further, they have not repented of these sins, and as yet, have not cried out to God for relief and Mercy. This part of the prayer is summarized here:
15 And now, O Lord our God, who brought your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and have made a name for yourself, as at this day, we have sinned, we have done wickedly. [Dan 9:15 ESV]
Then Daniel makes his request. It is for restoration of Jerusalem, of Zion, of God's own city, not for the people, but for His Name's sake. A prayer in accordance with the will of God, as revealed in God's word. Daniel knew he was asking God for what God already had planned.
Since Daniel is asking what is to come next, Gabriel comes to him again, with word of the future. Only Daniel, so far as I know, is recorded as receiving this kind of explanation. What faith he must have had!
vs 24: Seventy weeks! There are seven purposes to be accomplished by the decree of 70 weeks. So the 70 years is just the first phase of what God has decreed for Jerusalem for her unfaithfulness. The seven purposes are:
1. to finish the transgression
2. to put an end to sin
3. to atone for iniquity
4. to bring in everlasting righteousness
5. to seal vision (to make all God's plans?)
6. to seal prophet (to make all God's prophets 100% correct, and all prophecy fulfilled?)
7. to anoint a most holy place.
MSB has a very long note explaining all this, though it puts my 5th and 6th one together. MSB says sealing vision means that prophecy will end, and seal prophet means to bring to conclusion the fulfillment of all prophecy.
2022 - This verse:
24 "Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place. [Dan 9:24 ESV]
To finish the transgression. What was that earlier phrase..."the latter end of the indignation", in 8:19. I think we see clearly now that these refer to God's ongoing wrath against the nation of Israel. As in Daniel's day, that wrath against them still continues. It will continue, not only for the 70 years of Babylonian captivity, but for 70x7 weeks, ending only after t/gt, with that huge Gentile Age inserted after week 69. So that means...back in 8:19. I am going back there to put in what it means, but understand that I got that from 9:24!
2020!!!-70 weeks to 70 AD? Makes no sense. That was final destruction not promised restoration as Gabriel says. So that last week must still be separated off.
Vs 26 talks about 70 AD. World history filled with war after that. Vs 27 skips the rest of the church age and goes to those last 7 years. Maybe all the visions in Daniel are like this. From Daniel's time to 70 AD and then those last 7 years. Daniel is not a prophecy of Gentile history, except as it unfolds to 70 AD. This is making more sense than anything before. This is why no Pope, no Ww1 and ww2, no Hitler, nothing about the US, its rise or fall. The church age is not in prophecy except to say it will happen. This is why Jesus was so clear that new wine cannot go in old skins. We are not part of this. Our times are of so little importance that the Bible doesn't even talk about it. What does this mean? It means we have no sacrifices to make, no traditions to keep...spreading the gospel is all there is for us. Our one and only command is to be Christian in all that we do. We should never feel important. We are just Gentiles. We just mark time.
From the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one, a prince, will be 7 weeks. 49 years. Is this how long it was until the wall of Jerusalem was rebuilt and they had a new leader? To the close of the OT? To the end of Nehemiah - who rebuilt the city, the end of Malachi and so the end of the OT?
Once rebuilt, it was another 62 weeks - 434 years to the first advent of Messiah. Per MSB, this 434 years was ended with Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem on 10 Nisan, AD 30. This is not the same days as Adrian Roger's date above for the same event, of 4/6/32 AD. While I am positive that the Bible is correct, it is obvious that some very learned people disagree on the jots and tittles.
After the sixty two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing. Then the prince who is to come - Satan - will destroy the city and the sanctuary. This is about 70 AD. The city and sanctuary will fall suddenly, and it will be more or less desolate, surrounded by war to the end. So the city of Jerusalem falls at the end of the 69th week of 70. The last seven are trib and great trib. Antichrist will make a "strong covenant" with many for one week, but in the middle, he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. This refers back to the 2300 days of Dan. 8:14. After this, the "decreed end".
2023 - This:
27 And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator." [Dan 9:27 ESV]. This is a 7 year agreement. Half of the week though...how can I possibly reconcile this with the 2600 days? Both must be true, and I cannot resolve them!
Looking back at vs 26, there is a reference to "the prince who is to come", and who's people will destroy the city and the sanctuary. If I make this about 70 AD, which isn't that hard to do, then I would be looking at a seven year agreement made way back then, and broken after just 3 1/2 years. How long did AE keep the sacrifice shut down? I looked for a while, but did not find anything useful. Surely we know how long that lasted. I am wondering if Gabriel - and this vision of Daniel that will not resolve with Rev 13 - is in fact ALL about the near fulfillment, with AE, who did indeed stop the sacrifice. Perhaps he stopped it back then for 3 1/2 years after making a seven hear agreement with the local Jews when he came to power, and it is the MoL that will stop it for longer - for 2600 days. Or maybe the other way around. Maybe AE stopped if for 2600 days, and the MoL will only stop it for those last 3.5 years. Hmm...that starts to make some sense and untangle things a bit...and I should be able, with some effort, to pin down with reasonable precision just how long AE had the temple shut down. That number ought to be available!
2023 - Continuing the above...
AE profaned the temple on Dec 16, 156 BC, according to this article: https://landmarkevents.org/antiochus-epiphanes-profanes-the-temple-156-bc/
Here is a paragraph in that article: A dispute over who should be the high priest of the Jews in Jerusalem resulted in a war of bribery, won by the pro-Greek Jason over his traditionalist brother Onias. A couple years later one Menaleus, not a descendant of Aaron, paid a higher bribe to Antiochus and was installed as the new high priest. Menaleus plundered the temple, causing riots in Jerusalem, and Jason returned to lead the revolt. Antiochus took it all personally and entered the city with an army, finished the temple plundering, and established martial law. Always suspicious of Ptolemaic Egypt, he converted Jerusalem into a fortress city and announced that it would be Greek in religion, abolishing Jewish rites, burning all the Torahs, and requiring the worship of “the manifest god.”
Depressingly, there is also this: The ultimate breaking point came when Antiochus erected an altar to Zeus on top of the altar of burnt offerings, and sacrificed a pig on December 16, 167 BC.. How do you resolve the temple profaned in 156 BC and the sacrifice of that pig in 167 BC. That's 11 years. Surely the pig is profaning?
Bottom line is that I haven't found this answer...but I think it is huge in understanding these prophecies. I MUST move on. Three hours already, and another chapter yet to read.
I am very tired. My brain is tired. There is too much in these three chapters.
2022 - Ditto. I got down through vs 23 with some progress still being made. I did not dig at all into 24-27, which is where all the actions of the desolator are described. I must get back to these soon.
2023 - ..and there is still chapter 10 to read...