(last updated 2/7/09)Jan's Bible Notes
DANIEL 9
1-3 When does this take place? This would be 536-539 BC, 66 years after Daniel’s captivity. Again, some disagreement over the identity of Darius. Daniel had served in one world empire, now he has seen another come into being and he has served in it. He sees the partial fulfillment of the dream of Nebuchadnezzar. Why was Daniel praying? He was familiar with the prophecies of Jeremiah, and he sees things happening that are paving the way for the fulfillment of this prophecy.
4 We want to look at Daniel’s prayer, and see what we can learn about prayer. When the Bible records prayers of great men such as Daniel, David and Paul, we want to pay attention, and learn how to pray, and what kinds of things to pray for.
There is currently a book out about the prayer of Jabez, from I Chron. 4:10. It has caused some controversy in Christian circles. The prayer is by an obscure person, is one verse long, and is quite different from the prayers of Daniel, David and Paul. Jabez asks for blessings, and that he would not experience harm or pain. Now let’s see how Daniel begins his prayer. We see serious prayer, no quickie here.
4-5 This is typical of what we have seen in the Old Testament. What do we usually see first in these prayers? Humble recognition of who God is, praise, recognition of sinfulness and repentance. The entire prayer, through 19, is confession and repentance. The prayer of Jabez seems quite trite and self-centered in comparison, yet I believe many Christians pray like that. "Bless me (give me…) and make everything feel OK!" So how come there is no popular book on the prayer of Daniel? Did God grant Jabez's requests? Does that necessarily mean He approved of it? Can you think of other requests that God granted that He did not approve of? Meat in the wilderness; Num. 11:4,18,31-33; Ps. 106:15. So what should they have requested instead?
Perhaps it is better not to look at prayer as requesting, but as an opportunity to look to God in humble acceptance of whatever His will brings. But doesn’t the New Testament say we are to ask, and that we have not because we ask not? Again, if we look at Paul’s prayers, what sort of things does he ask for? “Stuff”? Mostly for God’s working in his life and in other people’s lives. We don’t know what “things” or events God desires to bring into our lives; doesn’t it seem audacious to suggest to Him what would be best for us? Do we really know? Is there any chance that our plan would be better than what God has planned? Jesus taught us to pray FIRST for God’s will to be done (not ours), for our daily needs, forgiveness (implying repentance for our sins) and for God’s leading in our lives. Jabez’s prayer is not like this. Does God’s “blessing”--His best for us, which means our spiritual growth--always come in a pleasant form? Might it come through pain or difficulty He plans to lead us through? It often does. We would like to experience Christian maturity without the painful growth process.
According to 4, who are God’s blessings reserved for? Today we hear the word “awesome” a lot, meaning what? What does it mean here?
5 I doubt he is just being repetitive here. There are different kinds of sin. He hit them all, from evil deeds and rebelliousness to missing the mark and just failing to do what should have been done. We see that he is speaking of all Israel, not just himself. Should we just say, “forgive me my sins,” or should we name them? Why?
6 What was Israel guilty of? He names a specific sin.
7 What belongs to God? And what to them? This is quite different from the response Adam and Eve had to their sin. He doesn’t pass the buck or blame others as they did; he doesn’t whine, explain, justify, or ask God WHY He made us like He did (a way of putting the blame on God).
9 He alludes to forgiveness, but doesn’t actually ask God to forgive—yet.
10 He confesses things they have done as well as things they haven't done. Can not doing something be sin?
11 Daniel recognizes the captivity as the fulfillment of the curse written in the Law, and that they deserve this curse. Today some people want to claim the blessings of the Law for the church, but do you hear them talk about the curses? Some were publicly asking God to bless our country following the terrorist attack, but did we see them approaching a righteous God with humility and prayers of repentance for themselves and their nation? Can our nation repent? As a nation? I believe the Bible indicates that only Israel can respond to God as a nation, because Israel is the only nation God chose as a nation and put them under His rule. God deals with Israel as a nation. He deals with everyone else as individuals, from what I see in the Bible.
14 Even when God brings calamity, He is righteous. ALL His deeds, even judgment. Contrasting God’s deeds and their deeds.
15 "And now O Lord": now that he has confessed, he begins his petition.
16 Jerusalem is referred to as the holy mountain. We saw this terminology in Psalms, and this confirms that as referring to Jerusalem. Finally he asks God to do something--what?
17 What else does he ask God to do? Why should God do anything for us? Because of how deserving we are? This is a rather general request; does he tell God what he thinks God should do?
18 Compare Eph. 2:8-9. Total humility is required; we have nothing to offer, no ground to stand on. Does he tell God what he thinks God should do?
19 Finally he asks God to forgive, after making it very clear that he understands the basis of that forgiveness. He does not ask presumptuously. Take action, don’t delay: does he suggest what action God should take? Should we suggest to God what we think He should do in a particular situation? Does He need our suggestions? Study the prayers of the Bible to find out what kinds of things we should pray for and about. He is concerned for God’s name; are we as concerned, or are we mostly concerned for our own selves?
20 He keeps talking about “us” and “our” but now he says he is confessing his OWN sin--not just talking about Israel in general. Do we have any record of Daniel’s sins? Does it matter? Everyone has sinned, even believers that appear to be really godly. Sin can be many things, not just stuff that looks bad to others. The closer you get to God, the more you become aware of your own sinfulness, pride and self-centeredness; Daniel appears to be as godly as any man in the Bible.
21 The plot thickens. What happens during this prayer? We see again that angels appear as men. Has Daniel even finished his prayer? Compare Is. 65:24. Why was he weary? Evening offering: offerings can’t be made now, without the temple, but he refers to a particular time of day.
22-23 Actually, the information he now gives Daniel does not seem to be anything Daniel was praying for, at least not in this prayer, or perhaps he had just not got to that part yet. But from verses 1-3 we see that this was his concern. It’s interesting how he went about presenting this concern to God. Is Daniel more loved than others? Are WE greatly beloved? Why? Because we are IN CHRIST, the Beloved.
24-27 These four verses are important in understanding God’s prophetic timetable. We want to look carefully and in detail at this section. First notice the main things talked about. 24, the 70 weeks or sevens, who it's about. (Who? And what place? NOT the church. These terms are not interchangeable.) 25, a decree, a time period from the decree until the Messiah. 26, the Messiah cut off, the people of the prince who is to come. 27, a one week covenant (one seven), abomination in the middle of that seven.
First, are these 70 literal weeks? Context: Daniel has been thinking about the 70 years captivity, in which Israel was punished a year for each period of seven years that the land was not given its Sabbath rest. 25-26 tell us what is to happen during the first 69 weeks. We are to begin from what event? When was this decree? Read Neh. 2:1-8. Now look at the things listed at the end of Dan. 9:24. In fact, we can see that they have not yet happened, and will not happen until some time in the future. ("Everlasting" can also be translated as ages. The kingdom will be an age of righteousness. OR, just the idea of these events bringing in the Messiah, in whom is everlasting righteousness. The Most Holy could be the Messiah, or the Holy Place in the temple.)
Since these events did not take place during the 69 days, weeks, or months following that decree, it must mean sevens of something else. It appears to refer to the beginning of the Messiah’s kingdom. Weeks are sevens, so we have 70 sevens, or 70 7-year-periods. And it so happens that years fit the historical time frame exactly. The decree was in 445 BC. The Messiah presented Himself to Israel as King at the triumphal entry to Jerusalem, 32 AD. 7 weeks of years plus 62 weeks of years. Or, 49 plus 434. The first 49 years takes us from the decree to the end of the book of Malachi. The next 434 years takes us to the day Christ presented Himself to Israel as King. Compare Luke 19:14. AFTER that point, “Messiah is cut off,” crucified. So Daniel is actually prophesying that Israel will reject her Messiah when He comes. Since the first 69 weeks of years have been exactly literally fulfilled, we can know that the last week of years will also. (There are books that give the details of figuring this time period, taking into consideration the Jewish calendar and leap years.)
That still leaves one more week; it is discussed in 27. But 26 tells what happens between the 69th and 70th weeks. So we have a time period followed by certain events, followed by the last 7, or the last 7 years. So have those events happened yet? Those who don’t take the literal interpretation say this is 70 actual weeks, and is fulfilled in the literal destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 AD. However, the things listed in 24 didn’t happen at the end of that period. They had not been fulfilled at the time John wrote Revelation (about 95 AD), so at that time they were still future. (Those who believe it was fulfilled in 70 AD also believe John wrote Revelation before 70 AD, even though there is no manuscript evidence, only their own desire to make a time-table that corresponds to their beliefs.)
But we do see a partial, “near” fulfillment of this prophecy in that event, while its literal, complete fulfillment awaits a future time. We do get another clue here identifying this prince; he is the prince of what people? What people destroyed the city and temple in 70 AD? The Romans; just as we saw earlier in Daniel that the last world empire, the legs of iron, was the Roman empire, and as the iron is mixed with clay in the final kingdom, we see that the Roman empire is still in view.
Further evidence for future fulfillment is the fact that the 7 years mentioned in 27, the break in the middle (three and a half years), and the comments about this “prince,” all fit with other passages telling of the final world ruler. Revelation talks about the three and a half year periods, as does Dan. 7 and Dan. 12. This prince is the little horn of Dan. 7, the small horn of Dan. 8, the beast of Revelation and the man of sin of II Thes. 2.
The length of the time gap between the 69th and 70th weeks was not revealed to the prophets. Some people refuse to believe there is such a time gap because the Bible does not use the word "gap." (Neither does it use the terms "trinity," "original sin," or "the fall," but that doesn't mean it doesn't contain and teach those concepts.) The Bible does refer to this "gap" in various places. Read Hosea 3:4-5. When was their last king? When will they next have a king? God gave definite time periods when dealing with Israel, but to the church He doesn’t give set times. Israel was first put out of the land for 490 years, the second time for 70 years, but this time for an indefinite period, “for many days,” because it is that indefinite period of the church age.
Compare Mt. 25:5-6. Notice the time clues. The bridegroom is who? Where did He go? So does the Bible say He would come right back? The word “delay” indicates that some time passes, and no one knows for sure just when He is coming back. How did people on earth react to His leaving and delay? All, even the ones with the oil, get drowsy, lethargic. (Compare I Thes. 5:1-11.) When does the bridegroom return? Midnight, the very end of the day. Read John 14:3; does Jesus say how much time will pass between His leaving and His return?
We refer to this gap or time period as the age of what? Grace, or the church age. It is an unspecified period of time, in which we are living--the time following Christ’s crucifixion, up until the ruler of the final kingdom, in the time of the 10 toes. The church was not revealed in the Old Testament, nor was the church age. The New Testament calls this a “mystery,” Eph. 3:8-11. In the Bible, a mystery is not used as something we can’t figure out, but rather, as something which was not previously revealed and now is. Christ made it clearer when He came; compare Luke 4:16-21, where He read from Is. 61:1-2, but stopped in the middle of the verse and said that these things have been fulfilled. The last part had not yet been fulfilled; it was future, at His second coming.
We have also seen that God uses specific time periods when dealing with Israel. Has God given the church any specific dates or time periods? The church age will end when what happens? (when the church is caught up to meet Christ in the air) Review II Thes. 2. And the 70th week will begin when what happens, according to Dan. 9:27? The making (NASB) or confirming (KJV) of a 7-year covenant/treaty with "the many." Everyone says this means Israel, although it doesn’t say that specifically. However, the phrase "the many" is used several more times in Daniel and each time seems to refer to Israel, 11:33, 11:39, 12:3. In the middle of the week he breaks the treaty, whoever it is with, and things begin to go very badly for Israel.
This is further evidence that the 70 weeks cannot be literal weeks, because it seems extremely unlikely that any ruler would make a treaty for one week, or break it after 3 1/2 days. Rev. 12:13-17 tells of his great persecution of Israel for 3 1/2 years, which would be the second 3 1/2 years. Also, read Is. 28:15-18, a description of this time. References to the covenant being with death and Sheol are further evidence of the satanic power behind this man. Falsehood and deception will mark this period and this man. Compare Mt. 24:4-5,11,23-24.
27 He will end sacrifice and offering; these will have been restored. He begins as a political world ruler, but after the first 3 1/2 years, he assumes the role of world religious leader also. Compare Rev. 13. "On the wing of abominations": there are other references to the abomination of desolation in the middle of the 7 years. "Makes desolate", or causes horrors: again Rev. 12 tells of the great persecution. Also read Mt. 24:15-21. A time of unprecedented horror following this event. By the way, as Matthew was written to the Jews, and the church age was still unknown, we do not see the church age or the rapture pictured in Mt. 24, as many say. This is an important factor in understanding Mt. 24 (see notes on Mt. 24). We see the tribulation, the second coming, and the introduction of the kingdom.
So, in short, to answer Daniel’s questions about when Israel will come into her kingdom, it won’t be right away! These periods of times and these events must take place first. It is off in the future. We also see in studying the prophetic teachings how important it is to read and study the WHOLE Bible before attempting to interpret and understand prophetic passages. The Bible interprets itself if you compare and contrast passages.
Copyright 2005 Jan Young