Daniel The Prophet (Part 6 of 8)

Daniel The Prophet – (Part 6)

Chapter 9

It was in the first year of Darius that the things recorded in chapter 9 took place. This would, therefore, be almost immediately after the overthrow of Babylon. ‘It is evident that there was correspondence between the prophets in Babylon and those in Jerusalem. In Jeremiah 25:11 we read:

“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… “

From this word received from Jeremiah, Daniel knew that the period of Israel’s down treading was determined, and hence his reference to seventy years in 9:2.

From Daniel 9:3-19 an important principle emerges. Daniel pours out his soul to God, and identifies himself with the nation of Israel. He does not separate himself and say “they have sinned” but rather “we have sinned.” Quite unlike King Saul, when he returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites! Anything that was done right, Saul could say “I have done… ” but anything which should not have been done he could say “. they have done

“. Daniel’s attitude was the reverse of Saul’s. He sought God “by prayer and supplications with fastings, and sackcloth and ashes.” He pleaded with God, approaching Him as “… the Lord, the great and terrible God, who keepest covenant and steadfast love with those who love Him and keep His com­mandments.” This was just what Israel had not done, as Daniel goes on to say — “We have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from Thy commandments and ordinances.”

Moses, in his farewell address to Israel (in Deuteronomy) had warned them that this would happen. God had sent his prophets, rising up early and sending them. But as Jesus said in his parable of the vineyard, some they ill-treated and some they killed, but they did not amend their ways, so Daniel says “We have not listened to thy servants the prophets who spoke in thy name.” Consequently, although God was righteous, to them belonged confusion of face, no matter where they were, because of their willful rebellion. Daniel repeats that to all classes belonged confusion of face. “All Israel has transgressed thy law and turned aside.”

He reminds God that what had come upon them was exactly what Moses said would come if they disobeyed. Yet, despite all the calamity which had come upon them, they had not repented, “turning from their iniquities and giving heed to the truth.”

Then Daniel (in v. 15) begins to plead with God (who had brought Israel out of Egypt with a mighty hand) that God’s wrath may be turned away from Jerusalem. Their very name had become a byword among the heathen. He pleads with God that for God’s own sake, he should cause his face to shine upon the desolate sanctuary. “Incline thine ear, and hear”, for Daniel was not pleading on the grounds of their righteousness, but rather on the grounds of God’s great mercy. “Oh Lord, hear! Oh Lord, forgive! Give heed and act, delay not for thine own sake, Oh my God, because thy city and thy people are called by thy name!”

God always answers (in some way) any sincere prayer to Him. Sometimes it is immediate, as when Nehemiah prayed when he was standing before the king and the guidance he sought was given immediately. Often the answer is not so immediate, but it always does come finally, although the answer is not always as we would like it. Indeed, very often, later, we realise if God had given us what we wanted it would have been the worst thing for us. It is also necessary to differentiate between what we want and what we need — often there is a vast difference.

Verse 20 says “… while I was speaking and praying and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel… while I was speaking in prayer… Gabriel… touched me about the time of the evening oblation… and he informed me and talked with me… ” (Daniel must have been engaged in prayer for several hours, not unlike the Lord Jesus who spent whole nights in prayer).

Seventy Weeks

Two angels are prominent in Israel’s affairs, Gabriel and Michael. Both are very high up in their position in the angel world, and both were intimately associated with Daniel. When Daniel began his supplication, Gabriel was commanded to shew Daniel, for he was a man greatly beloved, and to give him skill and understanding. He then proceeds to give Daniel the details of the seventy weeks’ prophecy. The principle is so obviously that of a day for a year that we do not propose to elaborate that point. All the six items have to do with the Lord Jesus, but the wording of the A.V. sometimes tends to obscure that fact.

The seventy weeks are divided into three parts, 7 weeks, 62 weeks and one week. The reading of the A.V. is much to be preferred over the more modern versions. These state that the prince comes at the end of 7 weeks, whereas the A.V. states that the prince comes at the end of 7 weeks plus 62 weeks, which is 69 weeks and which agrees with the facts. It was at the end of 69 weeks (493 years) that Jesus began his mission. These dated from “the commandment to restore and rebuild Jerusalem” but seeing there was more than one such commandment all of them have to be considered, and also the possibility of lunar as well as solar years.

Consider the following table (B.C. dates. L = Lunar).

  1. 480 (Xerxes at height of his power) + 490 L = B.C. 6.
  2. 457 Artaxerxes’ 1st decree (Ezra) + 490 Solar = A.D. 33.
  3. 444 Artaxerxes’ 2nd decree (Nehemiah) + 490 L = A.D. 33.
  4. 435 Artaxerxes’ 3rd decree (Nehemiah) + 490 Solar = A.D. 66.
  5. 408 End of Ezra’s 49 years (7 weeks) + 490 L = A.D. 68.
  6. 395 End of Nehemiah’s 49 years (7 weeks) + 490 Solar = A.D. 96.

(The above are copied from “Light for the Last Days” by Gratten Guinness).

490 Lunar Years = 475 Solar Years.

Before considering the above table in detail, let us see what was to be accomplished at the time appointed.

  • “To finish the transgression” (the perfecting of Judah’s transgression, Dr. Thomas). This was fulfilled in two ways, first in a general way because of their perverse and willful disobedience, but second, in a very particular way when they crucified the Lord Jesus. In Zechariah’s prophecy this was referred to in chapter 11:10 under the figure of breaking the staff ‘beauty’ “that I might break my covenant that I had made with all the people.” This was definitely the filling up of the measure of their iniquity. This led to the rejection of Israel as God’s exclusive people and followed by the invitation to the Gentiles, as Jesus said “Go into all the world.” Judah’s transgression was full and running over.
  • “To make an end of sins.” (The causing to cease of sin offerings, Dr. Thomas). The sacrifice of Jesus was the great anti-type of all the offerings under the law the thousands “of kids and bullocks slain.” When his offering was complete, it was “by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified” (Heb. 10: 14), so as Paul again says, “He taketh away the first that he may establish the second.” When Jesus died, the veil of the temple was rent from top to bottom (implying it was God’s doing) and the way to God was now open by that “new and living way through the veil, that is to say, his flesh.” Although sin offerings continued to be offered for a further 40 years or so, they had degenerated into meaningless formalities, which fact faithful Israelites recognised full well, and which Paul explains so clearly in Hebrews.
  • “To make reconciliation for iniquity” (The covering of iniquity, Dr. Thomas. To atone for iniquity, R.S.V.). This was accomplished by the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus. As Paul says, “It was not possible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sin.” In the 32nd Psalm, David says “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven and whose sin is covered.” The comparing of forgiveness with “covering up” has been a clear principle in Scripture, ever since God repudiated the fig leaf covering and substituted for it the skins of animals (presumably offered in sacrifice) to cover up the nakedness of the first pair, this realisation having come because of their sin. The blood-sprinkled lid of the ark in the most holy place was called, in the Hebrew, the “cover lid”. So when Jesus offered himself as a sacrifice for sin, it was the means whereby sin was “covered”.
  • “To bring in everlasting righteousness” (The bringing in a righteousness of ages, Dr. Thomas). This was accomplished by the life, and later the death of Jesus. No matter how great the sacrifice, unless it was preceded by a sinless life, it could not avail. When Jesus came, he was sinless. Not even his enemies could convict him of sin. When he came to John the Baptist to be baptised, John at once realised that their positions ought to be reversed, “I have need to be baptised of thee, and comest thou to me?”. Prior to Jesus none had been sinless, and the sinlessness of Jesus was put to severe tests, perhaps the greatest of which was in Gethsemane, as witness “he sweat as it were great drops of blood.” But even here his Father’s will was paramount: “Not my will but thine be done.” “As the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he himself likewise took part of the same, that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil. ” (Heb. 2:14). He died sinless, the grave could not hold him, he saw no corruption, and the third day God called and he answered, and “he asked life of God, and he gave it to him, even length of days for ever and ever.”
  • “To seal up the vision and prophecy” (The sealing the vision and prophet, Dr. Thomas. To seal both vision and prophet, R.S.V.). A seal is affixed to a document when it is complete, and the seal also guarantees its authenticity. The vision refers to Daniel and the things revealed to him, and so much of it was fulfilled in the days of the Lord Jesus that it guaranteed the authenticity of the whole. Much is still in the future, but it will be fulfilled in due course. The prophet also had to be sealed, and Jesus uses these actual words when he says, speaking of himself, “Him hath God the Father sealed.” But how was he “sealed”? Like the 144,000, he was sealed in his forehead. He had an impress and knowledge of his Father’s will and purpose as none have ever had either before or since. And his message and position were guaranteed by three witnesses —
  1. He bore witness of himself.
  2. John the Baptist bore witness of him.
  3. The works that he did were a witness that could not be denied.

His resurrection was the final proof of this “sealing” when God raised him from the dead. This was the greatest fulfilment of the prophecies concerning him, and we can with every confidence look forward to the final completion of those things foretold of him when he returns to the earth with great power and glory.

  • “To anoint the Most Holy.” (The anointing of the Holy One of Holy Ones. Dr. Thomas. To anoint a most holy place. R.S.V.). We cannot accept the R.S.V. rendering, for this sixth item certainly refers to the Lord Jesus. Peter tells us that “God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power.” Psalm 45:7 tells us “God anointed him with the oil of gladness above his fellows” and Paul confirms this in Hebrews 1. Isaiah 61:1 says “He hath anointed me to preach glad tidings”. The initial anointing was when God anointed him with the Holy Spirit without measure (and hence “above his fellows”) at his baptism, and heaven’s voice proclaimed “This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.” Jesus used the power provided by this anointing to very good effect. He healed the sick, he gave sight to the blind, speech to the dumb, hearing to the deaf, comfort to the broken­hearted, and on occasion, life to the dead. All this was, however, a foreshadowing of greater things, which were bestowed when his Father anointed him with life for ever­more and his Father bestowed upon him his own nature, when “angels, principalities and powers were all made subject to him.”

Jesus began his mission at the beginning of the 70th week, and his mission lasted 31/2 years and then “in the midst of the week he was cut off.” As explained earlier, this caused the sacrifice and oblation to cease, for promise had been replaced by fulfilment and type was replaced by anti-type. As predicted, the wall of the city was rebuilt again.

The A.V. says that “Messiah shall be cut off, but not for himself.” The R.S.V. is much better, saying “and shall have nothing”. Jesus was cut off for himself, and God “brought again from the dead that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant.” This was his own blood and although sinless he had our nature and needed redemption like we all do. On the other hand “he had nothing”. “He had not where to lay his head.” Although he was the Messiah and coming king he had nothing at all to demonstrate that fact. He was despised and rejected of men, and finally he was crucified like a common criminal. As Paul says, that was to the Greeks foolishness and to the Jews a stumbling block.

The prince who was to come, bringing desolation in his train, was the Roman who, from 66 to 70 A.D., ravaged the land and finally destroyed both city and temple. In the first half of the last week Jesus person­ally “confirmed the covenant” and at the end of the second half Stephen was put to death, sealing with his blood the “con-finning” process. Then began that great “scattering” process which resulted in the preaching of the gospel not only to the Samaritans (as Acts 8) but finally to the uttermost parts of the earth. Israel had rejected the most marvellous opportunity any nation has ever had, “they would not hear” as Jer. 13 expresses it, which resulted in their scattering unto “every nation under heaven.”

End Of The Seventy Weeks

Going back to Gratten Guinness’s chart of dates, it is Nos. 2 and 3 which particularly interest us. These are the dates 457 and 444 B.C. As mentioned previously, both solar and lunar reckonings must be considered, with the following result. 70 weeks, i.e. 490 solar years forward from 454 brings us to A.D. 33, which dates are the end of the 70 weeks (490 years). Seeing that Jesus was cut off in the midst of the week, taking 31/2 years from 33 leaves us A.D. 291/2, from which figures we see that the commencing points are B.C. 457 and B.C. 444. It is generally admitted that the birth of Christ would be B.C. 4 (anomalous as that may be) and his death 291/2 A.D. It is remarkable that both solar and lunar reckonings give approxi­mately the same results (from different starting points, of course).

Let us further realise that from 457 (the Decree in Ezra) to the completion of the work was 49 years (i.e. 408 B.C.) or the first seven weeks of this remarkable prophecy. Going forward a further 62 weeks brings us to A.D. 26, when Jesus was beginning his mission. It is very difficult getting exact dates (as witness the inevitable conclusion that Jesus was born about B.C. 4) but the overall picture is re­markably clear and accurate. The dates 457 and 444 are, however, usually regarded as being reliable.

This writer has never seen any satisfactory reason for splitting the last week into two 31/2 year periods, and regarding the latter half as being still in the future. The evidence points to the last week being fully completed with the death of Stephen, as this was a crucial event in the life of the infant church and marked the real commencement of going to the Gentiles, and the associated rejection of Israel.