Daniel 9:20 –
Daniel still confessed his
own sin.
Proverbs 20:9 – “Who can
say, “I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and
without
sin?”
1 John 1:8 – “If we claim to
be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is
not in
us.”
Daniel 9:21 –
Gabriel was the angel from
the early vision in 8:15 after the goat and ram vision.
“in
swift flight” might be better translated “in my extreme weariness” as it is in
the
NAS
because:
1. It is a better, more natural translation of the
Hebrew
2. Gabriel is described as a man, and men don’t fly
3. Rarely do angels have wings and normal angels never
fly.
4. Daniel is extremely weary from fasting
Time of the evening
sacrifice would be between 3:00-4:00. This is the time of
prayer
and Daniel had been praying at this time.
Notice there had been no
evening sacrifice since 586 and it is no 538, or 47 years
9:22 –
Gabriel “instructed” Daniel
Gabriel came to give Daniel
“insight” and “understanding.”
Gabriel is going to provide
an answer to Daniel’s prayer.
9:23 –
“I”, as in Gabriel, is
emphatic meaning it is an important fact that “I” was the one
sent. The angel who told Zechariah I stand before
God in Luke 1:19!
Since Gabriel is really
there this is really no a vision, but a visitation and
appearance of an angel. Remember when Peter was let out of prison by
an
angel and thought it was a vision but it was not. It was instead real time and
real location.
Daniel is said to be “highly
esteemed” which means someone who is desired or
counted
precious. Plus, it is in the plural which intensifies “highly
esteemed.”
“consider
the message” – consider the words being spoken
“understand
the vision” – “vision” is “mar’eh” which also means
“appearance”
and
refers to the appearance of the revelation in the message (not the appearance
of the angel Gabriel.
So, message and vision (“mar’eh” = revelation) refer to the same thing and would
mean, “Consider the words and understand the revelation”
9:24-27
|
9:24 |
9:25 |
9:26 |
9:27 |
|
Full Prophecy |
First 69 sevens |
Events between the 69th
seven and the 70th seven |
Describes the |
Two major views of
interpretation:
1) Christological (centered on Jesus Christ)
2) Non-Christological (not centered on Jesus Christ)
Non-Christological has two
views
1) Liberal, critical view – assume Daniel is a forgery
written around 165 BC during Macabean Revolt. They
say that the writer, pseudo-Daniel, confuses the 70 years of captivity with 70
sevens. This means that Gabriel was speaking of the seventy years that Jeremiah
spoke about and that Daniel began to pray about, but when Gabriel began to
speak of the future Daniel got confused. This means whatever they were talking
about has already been fulfilled with the return from captivity. Even the early
Jewish and Christian writers saw this fulfilled in 70 AD.
2) Conservative amillennial
view – most can not make any sense of these verses and are left to mock those
who find a literal fulfillment coming in the future. Some consider the sevens
to be periods of years, while others consider the 70 sevens to mean an
indefinite period of time. Very few see the sevens as referring to days. There
is no interpretation that can accomplish any of these predictions in 490 days.
So, they conclude that we don’t really know what seventy sevens mean and again
mock anyone who claims to understand the meaning. They may go to numerical
representations such as 7 is God’s number for his work, completion, perfection.
With this they end by saying this means the fullness of God’s completed work!! Which of course leaves the verse uselessly hanging. Some
read the first 69 sevens as literal reaching to the time of Jesus, but then
spiritualize the 70th seven. Others see the 70th week
occurring in 70 AD when
a. Extremely and totally subjective
b. Inconsistency of interpreting some things like Cyrus
as literal, but the city as the church????
c. Christ and the Church, which are always victorious,
are now seen as defeated by the anit-christ.
d. The “sevens” are unevenly distributed and
interpreted. The first period has “sevens” that last 80 years; the second
period has “sevens” that last 30 years; the third “seven” is either 7 years or
unknown.
Christological
Interpretation – is also diverse. All agree the prophecy hinges on Jesus, the
Messiah and the nation of
1) Amillenialist consider the 70th week to have occurred
immediately after the 69th week and so has already been fulfilled.
2) Others consider the 70th week to be
separated from the 69 weeks and yet future.
9:24
“weeks”
or “sevens” is the word that refers to a period of 7. In this
case 7 years.
“decreed”
- this word means that this period of time has been determined which
ndicates they are part of God’s total plan and will happen
just as he has
declared.
This declared period of 490
years is for:
1) Your people (
2) Your holy city (
Remember, chapters 2, 7 and
8 referred to the Gentiles. Remember Daniel 2:4 the writing switches from
Hebrew to Aramaic. It is now being written in Hebrew again.
There is no way, no room, no hermeneutics that can connect these verses to the church.
There is no way Daniel is thinking these words mean anything other than the
people of
This declared period of 490
years will accomplish these six things:
1) Finish transgression – finish means to bring to an
end.
2) Put an end to sin – may mean to take away sin, bring
sin to final judgment or seal up sin. The sealing up sin would be similar to
locking it in prison. Sin is removed and caused to be ineffective.
3) Atone for wickedness – or, to make reconciliation for
iniquity. This is mentioned in 2 Corinthians 5:19
4) Bring in everlasting righteousness – occurred on the
cross or at the second coming of Christ. Jeremiah 23:5-6 and Isaiah 11:2-5
speak of this character of the Messiah’s kingdom
5) Seal up vision and prophecy – “seal up” means no more
is to be added. Concerning what has been prophesied will be fulfilled.
6) Anoint the most holy – some claim this was the