Daniel 9:20-27 New King James Version (NKJV) The Seventy-Weeks Prophecy 20 Now while I was speaking, praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God, 21 yes, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, reached me about the time of the evening offering. 22 And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, “O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill to understand. 23 At the beginning of your supplications the command went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are greatly beloved; therefore consider the matter, and understand the vision: 24 “Seventy weeks[a] are determined For your people and for your holy city, To finish the transgression, To make an end of[b] sins, To make reconciliation for iniquity, To bring in everlasting righteousness, To seal up vision and prophecy, And to anoint the Most Holy. 25 “Know therefore and understand, That from the going forth of the command To restore and build Jerusalem Until Messiah the Prince, There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; The street[c] shall be built again, and the wall,[d] Even in troublesome times. 26 “And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; And the people of the prince who is to come Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, And till the end of the war desolations are determined. 27 Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; But in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, Even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate.” Faithful Time: God’s Rule Over Days Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. (Psalm 90:12) In Madeleine L’Engle’s book A Wrinkle in Time, three children travel through time to fight cosmic forces of evil. By tessering, or traveling through a wrinkle in time, they discover the power of love and God’s light that overcomes the darkness. God, the Creator and Sustainer, has power over time. In this passage, we see how God will bring about victory by overcoming wickedness and establishing a kingdom of righteousness. Throughout Scripture, numbers contain more meaning than a mere mathematical notation. In our passage, the symbolic number seven is mentioned many times. This number represents perfection or completeness, beginning with God’s creation in Genesis and continuing throughout Scripture to Revelation where it is used to describe both punishment doled out as well as the hope that those who overcome can expect (see the seven churches of Revelation 3 and 4). Some theologians argue that this passage is one of the strongest messianic descriptions in the Old Testament. Gabriel tells Daniel about the “Anointed One” who would be put to death, and the people of the ruler would come to destroy the city and the sanctuary. We know that Jesus died in approximately A.D. 33, and that the temple and much of the city of Jerusalem was destroyed in A.D. 70, bringing an end to the sacrificial system. Although some elements of this passage may seem obscure, it is clear that God has a timetable and will accomplish His good purpose for His people. Beyond the destruction and desolation described in these verses, there is a more powerful hand at work. Daniel shared the Good News that through time, God would bring in everlasting righteousness, seal up vision and prophesy, and anoint the Most Holy Place (v. 24). Apply the Word Even if we don’t know all the details of prophecy, we can still recognize the most important truth: God is faithfully in charge of time. If you’d like to study more about views on these prophecies, you can read the book Daniel, by John Walvoord, available from Moody Publishers.
Posted on: Tue, 25 Mar 2014 12:33:08 +0000
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