Daniel: Chapter 9
Seventy Sevens, or "Are we there yet?"

Jer. 25:8-12
8."Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, `Because you have not obeyed My words, 9.behold, I will send and take all the families of the north,' declares the LORD, `and I will send to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, My servant, and will bring them against this land and against its inhabitants and against all these nations round about; and I will utterly destroy them and make them a horror and a hissing, and an everlasting desolation. 10.`Moreover, I will take from them the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp. 11.`This whole land will be a desolation and a horror, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years. 12.`Then it will be when seventy years are completed I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation,' declares the LORD, `for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans; and I will make it an everlasting desolation.

 
The Text:
The Prayer: Righteousness belongs to Thee, O Lord, but to us open shame (v1-19).
Daniel, reading Jeremiah, realizes that the exile is prophecied to be 70 years (and is almost up) (v1-3).
As a result, he prays that God will forgive Israel and restore them to Jerusalem (v4-19).
Confession for the sins of Israel (v4-15)
Daniel spends most of his time confessing his corporate sins, though v20 states that he was "confessing his sin and the sin of his people Israel".

Request to restore Jerusalem and the Temple (v16-19)
Note the reference to the Mosaic curses; God said from the start not only what he would do when they failed, but that they would. (Lev 26:14-46, Deut 27:15-66, very dark reading)
Daniel asks God to relent from his anger and wrath and to end the desolation of Jerusalem and the temple.

The Prophecy: Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city (v20-27).
Gabriel arrives, and offers an introduction (v20-23).
You saw him in chapter 8...here he is again.
He tells Daniel that he's on the scene to kick some understanding forth.

Gabriel says 70 weeks are coming, in which a few things will happen (v24-27).
Really, we're just talking about 3 verses here.
What's going to happen? well...just a few things: (v24)
- finish the transgression
- make an end of sin
- make atonement for iniquity
- bring in everlasting righteousness
- seal up vision and prophecy
- annoint the most holy place

 
Major ideas/events:
Messiah doesn't come at week 70; he comes at week 69 (v25)
so...messiah's coming isn't the exact end of things.
Messiah will be cut off (v25).
expectation should not be for a victorious messiah prior to the end.
'the city' and 'the sanctuary' (almost undoubtedly jerusalem and the temple) will be destroyed (again!)
jerusalem will be built again in times of distress (and it will have a lovely plaza, moat, and paddle boats)
this seems to match the conditions of it's rebuilding post-exile; see ezra/nehemiah.
 
but don't get too attached - it's going to be destroyed again.
not just reconquered; destroyed.
v27...the prince who is to come violates the covenant and desolations will occur
'he' will make a covenant with 'the many' for what seems to be the last week
but, he'll break his covenant and put a stop to sacrifice/offerings.
and on the wing of 'abominations will come one who makes desolate' (v27) until the desolator is destroyed.


 
Guesswork:
"Seventy Sevens are decreed for your people"; What are these?
1. It's a metaphor for 3 periods, ending with Jerusalem's destruction in 70 AD.
- seven sevens is from the decree to return to Jerusalem (538/537 BC) until the time of Ezra/Nehemiah (440-400 BC)
- sixty-two sevens is from that point until Christ
- the final seven is from the end of Christ's ministry until the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD.
preterist view. (everything has already happened).
problems:
- what about the firm covenant for a week, but in the middle the ending of sacrifice?
- does the final week come after the destruction of jerusalem? v26,27 "after 62 weeks...the people of the prince...will destroy thye city...and he will make a covenant for a week".
- the sevens are different lengths, not consistent (ok if purely metaphor)
- is everything in v24 (messiah will seal up vision/prophecy, bring in everlasting righteousness, etc) completed on this timeline?

2. It's a metaphor for 3 periods, ending with Christ's second return.
- seven sevens is from the decree to return to Jerusalem (538/537 BC) until the Christ's coming.
- sixty-two sevens the church age (from Christ's ascension until the final persecution of the church)
- the final seven is the period when the antichrist persecutes the church/israel/etc
problems:
- the sevens are different lengths, not consistent (ok if purely metaphor)
- messiah being 'cut off' and having nothing in v26 becomes highly metaphoric (e.g. the world doesn't consider him anymore)

3. It's a metaphor where the weeks are each 7 years, ending with Christ's second coming.
- seven sevens, 49 years, is from 458 BC (command to Ezra) or 445 BC (command to Nehemiah) until the completion of the work of Ezra (409 BC) or Nehemiah in (409 or 396 BC).
- sixty-two sevensa, or 434 years, from the end of the first period until Christ's coming (either his baptism in 26 AD or Palm Sunday in 32/33 AD).
- the final seven starts much later...at the end of the 'church age', and will be 7 years of tribulation.
problems:
- requires cessation of time during 'church age', belief that Israel's time will come again at the end (i'm ok with this).
- requires dates to be exact (some are argued)
misc background dates:
Ezra is usually credited with leading a group to Jerusalem in 459/458 BC
Nehemiah left for Jerusalem in 446/445 BC.

 
so...when does this thing start? up to 5 dates (thanks, wikipedia).
1. Cyrus' decree, sometime between 539-536 BC (Ezra 1:2-4)
2. Darius' reiterance of Cyrus' decree, 520-518 for Darius Hystaspes, 422-420 BC for Darius Nothus) (Ezra 6:3-12) God's declaration/prophecy of the building through Haggai and Zechariah seems to fit this time as well. (Ezra 6:14)
3. Artaxerxes' decree, in his 7th year, authorizing the use of certain articles for the temple rites and giving certain rights to Ezra and the Jews, 517-515 BC for Darius Hystaspes, 459-457 BC for Artaxerxes Longimanus, 398-397 BC for Artaxerxes Memnon. (Ezra 7:12-26)
4. A decree authorizing the reconstruction of the city of Jerusalem granted by one of our “Artaxerxes”' in his 20th year. Could be one of three rulers who ruled more than 20 years, esp. as Artaxerxes is a title. (Neh 2:4-9)
if the 69th week ends somepoint in the life of christ, what years would that require?
well...assuming the life of christ was sometime within 8-36 BC (pick a 33 year span, usually)
you could go from birth, baptism, transfiguration, triumphal entry, ascension, etc...

and, assuming the week of years is somewhat normal calendar wise, 69 * 7 == 483
that gives your range for the starting interpretation to be: 491 - 447/8 BC (no zero year).
but.
how accurate are these dates?
some of the dating for events may be wrong; that would make things hard to nail down.

how accurate are these years? were the calendars constant?
some people argue that daniel isn't dealing with full years, but 360 day 'prophetic years'.

i'm sick of this. what's the result?
well, start with a date somewhere in the 450ish range, and at the end of Daniels 69 weeks you're in the time of Christ.
the final week:
daniel says that 'the prince who is to come' will make a firm covenant with many for one week, but in the middle" he'll end it and and "on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate" (v27)
this seems to be what christ refers to in Matt 24:15, 16:
Therefore when you see the Abomination of Desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place, then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.

further, many tie the 3.5 year period talked about in daniel 7/revelation to the last half of the week here.
dan 9:27
"And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering;

seems to match:
dan 7:25
`He will speak out against the Most High and wear down the saints of the Highest One, and he will intend to make alterations in times and in law; and they will be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time.
rev 11:2 "they will tread under foot the holy city fo forty-two months",
rev 12:6, the woman flies to the wilderness for "one thousand two hundred and sixty days" (42 * 30)
which correlates to...
rev 12:14, the women flies to the desert where "she was nourished for a time, times, and half a time"
rev 13:5 "the beast from the sea is given "authority to act for forty-two months"
1,260 is 42 months (where each month has 30 days), and 42 months is 3.5 years (12 months per year).


 
Important Ideas:
God is prepping Israel for a little quiet time.
Daniel's stories prove God's might.
Daniel's prophecies carry the lessons of the stories to the context of the future.
Daniel 9 is a/the key bridge between these periods.
Daniel's confessional prayer ties to the past.

Daniel's prophecy ties to the future with the 70 weeks.
The days to come...

The prophecy is the first to center on the fate of Israel.
The prophecies have centered on the rise and fall of other nations.
Attention has sometimes been given to what happens to Israel in the mix, but this is squarely about Israel, start and finish.

Post Daniel, not much happens in the Bible.
There are a few minor prophets encouraging Israel to build the temple (Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi), but there isn't anything after 400 BC.
In that time, Israel goes through a lot (Greece, Selucids/Ptolemies, Maccabees, Rome) - and for the first time, things are pretty quiet.
 
Daniel's detailed prophecies fill in a lot of this period.

 
Lessons From Daniel's Prayer:
We should pray for things God says he will do.
daniel read that god said the exile would be 70 years.
so he prays for that.
 
a few other things god says he'll do that we should pray for:
- sanctify his church (including us)
- fill the earth with his glory
- return and bring us to heaven

We must be quick to confess our sins.
notice how subtly daniel offers excuses for the sins of Israel.
he carefully implies that if God were more available and more involved, then maybe they wouldn't be in this mes..
he brings up the fact that it's very difficult to be holy when surrounded by so many pagan nations, casually mentioning that it was God who moved them to the land after all.
he reminds God that this is how God made Israel.
finally, he tells god not to force Israel to change but rather to accept Israel is it is.

 
This is not just an OT thing; the NT is clear as well:
James 5:16
"Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed."
1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
The Lords prayer includes a confession; "forgive us our trespasses..." (matt 6:12)

Confess to God, confess to each other.
This means:
- you are looking for your own sin diligently.
you sin. a lot. you should be looking for it.
we really don't do this well.
 
"find your strengths"
- you are accepting your faults
there are so many dodges here.
we make excuses for ourselves.
"
we talk about our need to be positive.
"good self image", "self esteem"


We should bear in mind the consequences for our sin.
Might be worth asking what consequences are in store for us with our sins.
God wanted Israel to know what the consequences for sin would be; we should know too.
 
how about us?
ananias and saphira, struck dead.
same with corinthians being weak/sick and dead (1 cor 11:30, for misjudging the body [prob. the church])
james 5, some sickness linked to sin. "confess to one another...so that you may be healed"
1 peter 3:7 - grant [your wife] honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.
god will discipline us; "those whom the lord loves he disciplines"

Lessons From Gabriel's Message:
God may have a plan, but that doesn't make it easy, safe, or pleasant.
Your future's so bright, you have to wear black.
just because God has a plan doesn't make it nice.
when bad things happen, don't allow yourself to feel abandoned by God.

God gives a happy ending.
where is God taking history?
- finish the transgression
- make an end of sin
- make atonement for iniquity
- bring in everlasting righteousness
- seal up vision and prophecy

'alls well that ends well'