Christ Is The Answer
Prayer is our invitation for God to grant us revelation and understanding of Himself. This is why the Scripture instructs us to pray saying, “If any of you lack wisdom, he should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.” James 1:5. This is exactly what Daniel did as he asked for wisdom to understand all that was going on around him. Remember that Daniel was in exile in a foreign land of Babylon instead of his home in Jerusalem. We are equally in a foreign land and this place is not our home. We are hoping for a better country whose builder is God “they (saints of old who lived by faith) were looking for a better country- a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them”. Hebrew 11:16. Daniel was homesick. Are you homesick? Or are so caught up with the good old USA (or name your earthly country) that you are thinking this is a permanent home? This is the only sickness I pray for you and me – that we become seriously homesick and long for heaven to be with our God. May this world and all it offers never satisfy us. Lord, be my satisfaction. Amen
Daniel prayed confessing his sins and the sins of his people. It was revealed to him that the answer was in the person of Christ. Jesus is the good news and the answer. Like Daniel, we cannot survive and live without praying and crying out to God with our sins, fears, weaknesses and vulnerabilities. Christ is still our answer today. Let us put our trust in Him for all things without exception.
The prophecy in this section of Daniel 9 is awesome and but a little difficult to understand especially verse 27.
Daniel 9: 20-27 (New Living Translation)
20 I went on praying and confessing my sin and the sin of my people, pleading with the Lord my God for Jerusalem, his holy mountain. 21 As I was praying, Gabriel, whom I had seen in the earlier vision, came swiftly to me at the time of the evening sacrifice. 22 He explained to me, “Daniel, I have come here to give you insight and understanding. 23 The moment you began praying, a command was given. And now I am here to tell you what it was, for you are very precious to God. Listen carefully so that you can understand the meaning of your vision.
24 “A period of seventy sets of seven[c] has been decreed for your people and your holy city to finish their rebellion, to put an end to their sin, to atone for their guilt, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to confirm the prophetic vision, and to anoint the Most Holy Place.[d] 25 Now listen and understand! Seven sets of seven plus sixty-two sets of seven[e] will pass from the time the command is given to rebuild Jerusalem until a ruler—the Anointed One[f]—comes. Jerusalem will be rebuilt with streets and strong defenses,[g] despite the perilous times.
26 “After this period of sixty-two sets of seven,[h] the Anointed One will be killed, appearing to have accomplished nothing, and a ruler will arise whose armies will destroy the city and the Temple. The end will come with a flood, and war and its miseries are decreed from that time to the very end. 27 The ruler will make a treaty with the people for a period of one set of seven,[i] but after half this time, he will put an end to the sacrifices and offerings. And as a climax to all his terrible deeds,[j] he will set up a sacrilegious object that causes desecration,[k] until the fate decreed for this defiler is finally poured out on him.”
Here are my observations in addition to the ones you may have:
1. Angels are messengers of God to carry out his instructions. We see, angel Gabriel vs. 21 mentioned by name who was sent to deliver God’s message to Daniel. God still uses angels to this day so look out for them and often they will appear unknown to us - “Entertaining strangers” (Hebrew 3:2). Having said that, we even have a better deal than Daniel. The Holy Spirit of God now lives in us and “He will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and will tell you what is yet to come”. John 16:13.
2. Notice the 70 “sevens” mentioned. There is no clear interpretation that this means years. Many believe it means periods of sevens or completions. The periods last for certain time and some smart guys have tried to calculate the periods and project them to the present to the extent of pointing the exact date for the return of Christ. I am not impressed by any of these calculations and predictions. God has the times in his hand.
3. Yes, Jerusalem was restored/rebuilt (read books of Ezra and Nehemiah), vs. 25. But there was more to the restoration of the people of Israel than the city walls. The real restoration is the promise of the Messiah – Jesus Christ. He is the lamb who takes away the sin of the whole world. Christ is the one who will “put an end to their sin, to atone for their guilt, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to confirm the prophetic vision” vs.24.
4. The birth and crucifixion of Christ “the Anointed One” is announced. Christ’s coming into the world was revealed in verse 25. Christ’s death is indicated in verse 26 “the Anointed One will be killed”. Notice the phrase “appearing to have accomplished nothing”. That is exactly what happened. Many then and today do not think that the death of Christ means anything or has any significance. Even some churches today believe that the atonement was not necessary. There is no forgiveness without atonement and that is what Christ has accomplished for us once and for all and forever. This is the answer and cause for celebration.
5. In verse 26, the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple were predicted which occurred subsequent to Christ’s death, resurrection and ascension. History documents that the temple and Jerusalem were both destroyed in A.D. 70 by Titus Vespasianus and his army.
6. The difficulty in the passage is the last set of “seven” period vs. 27. Have the events of that period already happened or are they still in the future? It is not too clear. The events are the making and breaking of treaty with Israel to be made with the “ruler” (which is interpreted as the antichrist); he will put an end to sacrifices and will cause desecration of the temple and things of God. My take is that the last set of the sevens (the 70th seven) began after Jesus death and the period will last until God says so. Christ himself talked about the “abomination that causes desolation” (Matthew 24:15) and it happened in A.D 70. I believe that all the events of the 70th seven have not transpired such as the agreement and breaking of the agreement with Israel. Also, the “defiler” (the antichrist) will meet his doom as promised by God (vs. 27) which is consistent with the other prophecies of Daniel 8:25-26
What are we to do? Embrace and celebrate the good news that our sins have been paid for forever and there is everlasting righteousness granted to all who trust in Jesus. For the end events, Jesus told us, 42"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him” Matthew 24:43-44.
This is good enough for me to know. Don’t worry about the exact day of His return but be ready and “keep watch”, pray and cry out to God on a daily basis. Christ is still the answer. Amen.
Prayer is our invitation for God to grant us revelation and understanding of Himself. This is why the Scripture instructs us to pray saying, “If any of you lack wisdom, he should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.” James 1:5. This is exactly what Daniel did as he asked for wisdom to understand all that was going on around him. Remember that Daniel was in exile in a foreign land of Babylon instead of his home in Jerusalem. We are equally in a foreign land and this place is not our home. We are hoping for a better country whose builder is God “they (saints of old who lived by faith) were looking for a better country- a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them”. Hebrew 11:16. Daniel was homesick. Are you homesick? Or are so caught up with the good old USA (or name your earthly country) that you are thinking this is a permanent home? This is the only sickness I pray for you and me – that we become seriously homesick and long for heaven to be with our God. May this world and all it offers never satisfy us. Lord, be my satisfaction. Amen
Daniel prayed confessing his sins and the sins of his people. It was revealed to him that the answer was in the person of Christ. Jesus is the good news and the answer. Like Daniel, we cannot survive and live without praying and crying out to God with our sins, fears, weaknesses and vulnerabilities. Christ is still our answer today. Let us put our trust in Him for all things without exception.
The prophecy in this section of Daniel 9 is awesome and but a little difficult to understand especially verse 27.
Daniel 9: 20-27 (New Living Translation)
20 I went on praying and confessing my sin and the sin of my people, pleading with the Lord my God for Jerusalem, his holy mountain. 21 As I was praying, Gabriel, whom I had seen in the earlier vision, came swiftly to me at the time of the evening sacrifice. 22 He explained to me, “Daniel, I have come here to give you insight and understanding. 23 The moment you began praying, a command was given. And now I am here to tell you what it was, for you are very precious to God. Listen carefully so that you can understand the meaning of your vision.
24 “A period of seventy sets of seven[c] has been decreed for your people and your holy city to finish their rebellion, to put an end to their sin, to atone for their guilt, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to confirm the prophetic vision, and to anoint the Most Holy Place.[d] 25 Now listen and understand! Seven sets of seven plus sixty-two sets of seven[e] will pass from the time the command is given to rebuild Jerusalem until a ruler—the Anointed One[f]—comes. Jerusalem will be rebuilt with streets and strong defenses,[g] despite the perilous times.
26 “After this period of sixty-two sets of seven,[h] the Anointed One will be killed, appearing to have accomplished nothing, and a ruler will arise whose armies will destroy the city and the Temple. The end will come with a flood, and war and its miseries are decreed from that time to the very end. 27 The ruler will make a treaty with the people for a period of one set of seven,[i] but after half this time, he will put an end to the sacrifices and offerings. And as a climax to all his terrible deeds,[j] he will set up a sacrilegious object that causes desecration,[k] until the fate decreed for this defiler is finally poured out on him.”
Here are my observations in addition to the ones you may have:
1. Angels are messengers of God to carry out his instructions. We see, angel Gabriel vs. 21 mentioned by name who was sent to deliver God’s message to Daniel. God still uses angels to this day so look out for them and often they will appear unknown to us - “Entertaining strangers” (Hebrew 3:2). Having said that, we even have a better deal than Daniel. The Holy Spirit of God now lives in us and “He will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and will tell you what is yet to come”. John 16:13.
2. Notice the 70 “sevens” mentioned. There is no clear interpretation that this means years. Many believe it means periods of sevens or completions. The periods last for certain time and some smart guys have tried to calculate the periods and project them to the present to the extent of pointing the exact date for the return of Christ. I am not impressed by any of these calculations and predictions. God has the times in his hand.
3. Yes, Jerusalem was restored/rebuilt (read books of Ezra and Nehemiah), vs. 25. But there was more to the restoration of the people of Israel than the city walls. The real restoration is the promise of the Messiah – Jesus Christ. He is the lamb who takes away the sin of the whole world. Christ is the one who will “put an end to their sin, to atone for their guilt, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to confirm the prophetic vision” vs.24.
4. The birth and crucifixion of Christ “the Anointed One” is announced. Christ’s coming into the world was revealed in verse 25. Christ’s death is indicated in verse 26 “the Anointed One will be killed”. Notice the phrase “appearing to have accomplished nothing”. That is exactly what happened. Many then and today do not think that the death of Christ means anything or has any significance. Even some churches today believe that the atonement was not necessary. There is no forgiveness without atonement and that is what Christ has accomplished for us once and for all and forever. This is the answer and cause for celebration.
5. In verse 26, the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple were predicted which occurred subsequent to Christ’s death, resurrection and ascension. History documents that the temple and Jerusalem were both destroyed in A.D. 70 by Titus Vespasianus and his army.
6. The difficulty in the passage is the last set of “seven” period vs. 27. Have the events of that period already happened or are they still in the future? It is not too clear. The events are the making and breaking of treaty with Israel to be made with the “ruler” (which is interpreted as the antichrist); he will put an end to sacrifices and will cause desecration of the temple and things of God. My take is that the last set of the sevens (the 70th seven) began after Jesus death and the period will last until God says so. Christ himself talked about the “abomination that causes desolation” (Matthew 24:15) and it happened in A.D 70. I believe that all the events of the 70th seven have not transpired such as the agreement and breaking of the agreement with Israel. Also, the “defiler” (the antichrist) will meet his doom as promised by God (vs. 27) which is consistent with the other prophecies of Daniel 8:25-26
What are we to do? Embrace and celebrate the good news that our sins have been paid for forever and there is everlasting righteousness granted to all who trust in Jesus. For the end events, Jesus told us, 42"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him” Matthew 24:43-44.
This is good enough for me to know. Don’t worry about the exact day of His return but be ready and “keep watch”, pray and cry out to God on a daily basis. Christ is still the answer. Amen.
Comments