Daniel Study | Session 16 | 9:24-25

In today's study we find one of the greatest prophecies in all of the Bible that predicts the coming of the Messiah to the very day, the difference between a Julian and a Babylonian calendar, and the Triumphal Entry.

Verse 24: "Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy."

As we mentioned in our last study, the "seventy weeks" represent seventy sevens. So, here we see seventy weeks of seven, or 70 x 7, which is a total of 490 years. In other words, this entire prophecy will be fulfilled in a total 490 years. During that time, six things will happen, 1. transgression will be finished, 2. an end of sin, 3. reconciliation for iniquity, 4. everlasting righteousness will be brought in, 5. vision and prophecy will be sealed, and 6. the Most Holy will be anointed. The first three were fulfilled in Christ on the cross and the last three will be fulfilled at His second coming.

The Commandment

Verse 25: "Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times."  Notice, "that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to rebuild Jerusalem." History, both secular and biblical, tells us that that command came in 445 BC (Nehemiah 2:1-6). As a matter of fact, according to Sir Robert Anderson, in his work "The Coming Prince", he says that we not this happened on March 14, 445 BC! Interestingly, Sir Robert Anderson (1841-1918), a contemporary is E.W. Bullinger also said, "nothing new or 'Christian' happened in Acts 2", i.e., he did not believe in the birth of the church until Paul. 

Now notice this, "that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem (we know that that command was given on March 14, 445 BC) until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks."

Notice, "seven weeks and sixty-two weeks." That is simply 7 + 62 = 69 and 69 x 7 = 483 years. We are looking at one of the greatest prophecies in all of the Bible. This prophecy literally sets the date when the Messiah will come! It tells us that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of the Messiah will be 483 years.

Now bear in mind, that it wasn't until 71 BC that we began using what is called the Julian Calendar which has 365 ¼ days. Up until that time, the world used the Babylonian calendar which had 360 days. So, when looking at the prophecy we must look at it in the context in which it was written, Babylon. If we were to take 483 years and multiply it times 360 when would get 173,880 days. So, if we add 173, 880 days to March 14, 445 BC we would arrive at April 6, 32 AD!

On April 6, 32 AD, Jesus was sitting with his disciples on the Mount of Olives with his disciples when he said, "And when he had thus spoken, he went before, ascending up to Jerusalem. And it came to pass, when he was come nigh to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount called the mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, Saying, Go ye into the village over against you; in the which at your entering ye shall find a colt tied, whereon yet never man sat: loose him, and bring him hither. And if any man ask you, Why do ye loose him? thus shall ye say unto him, Because the Lord hath need of him" (Luke 19:28-31).

It also says that they took the donkey and "cast their garments upon the colt, and they set Jesus thereon. And as he went, they spread their clothes in the way. And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen; Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest. And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out. And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation" (Luke 19:35-44). The prophet Zechariah spoke of this same event when he said, "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; he is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey" (Zechariah 9:9).

This is an amazing prophecy that was fulfilled to the very day! 

 

Daniel Study | Session 15 | 9:14-24

We continue our study today in Daniel, chapter 9, where we see Daniel's prayer being interrupted by the angel, Gabriel, and he is told that 490 years are determined for the nation of Israel.

Verse 14: "Therefore hath the LORD watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the LORD our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice." Again, Proverbs 28:13 says, "He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy."

Verses 15-19: "And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly. O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us. Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake. O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies. O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name." Notice that Daniel did not base his request on man's righteousness or goodness, but on God's mercy. Lamentations 3:22 says, "Through the LORD'S mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not."

Verses 20-21: "And whiles I was speaking, and 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; Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation." Now Daniel is interrupted by an angel and the angel introduces himself as Gabriel. The Bible mentions three angels by name; Gabriel, Michael and Lucifer.

Verse 22: "And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding." God wants us to understand. Jesus told us that Daniel is the Key to understanding end time Scripture (Matthew 24:15).

Verse 23: "At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision." Oh, that we would be so set on doing God's will that He would call us "greatly beloved."

Notice, "at the beginning of your supplications the command went out," God always answers our prayers the moment we pray them. The answer is yes, no, or wait! Why? Because we are greatly beloved (cf. John 3:16). None of us should ever doubt that we are not loved. The Bible says that you are loved with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3).  God loves you so much this morning that He gave His only Son to die in your place. While those verses are specifically addressed to the nation of Israel, there is no doubt in my mind that they are for us as well.

Verse 24: "Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy." Notice "seventy weeks" or seventy sevens. In our European culture we use as our smallest measure of years Decades. We think in Tens. The Jews, however, think in Sevens; or what they call heptaths.

So, here we see seventy weeks of seven, or 70 x 7, which is a total of 490 years. In other words, this entire prophecy will be fulfilled in a total 490 years. And during this time (490 years) six things will happen: 1. To finish the transgression. (Willful sin); 2. To make an end of sin (Missing the mark); 3. To make reconciliation for iniquity (Combo of both); 4. To bring in everlasting righteousness; 5. To seal up the vision and prophecy; and To anoint the Most Holy (or Holy Place). 

The first three were fulfilled in Christ on the cross. The last three will be fulfilled at His second coming in Revelation 19.

Daniel Study |Session 14 | 9:3-14

In today's study, Daniel knows what God has in store for the future of the Gentile nations, now he intercedes on behalf of Israel to find out what God has in store for them.

Verse 3 "So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes." So, here is the scene. Daniel knows that the 70 years are almost completed. So, he begins to seek God on behalf of Israel. I'm sure that Daniel was thinking about how that God had told him about the future of the gentile nations, so why wouldn't he tell him about Israel.

Something else that can be learned from this is that Daniel was at least 90 years old at this time. And he was still serving the Lord. We never get too old to serve God. 

Notice, that it says that he was "fasting with sackcloth, and ashes." This was the Jews' way of showing God that they were sincere.

Verses 4-5: "And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments; We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments:" Notice that Daniel identifies with his nation when he says in verse 5 that "we have sinned." It has been said that an honest confession will always go a long way toward deliverance. I believe that Daniel understood that any attempt to justify the nation would get them nowhere. There is no justification for disobeying God, but when we are honest with ourselves and God, I believe that He opens the doors of mercy, grace, and forgiveness. Of course, God knows where He is on the situation, but sometimes I believe that He wants to make sure that we know where we are on the situation. 

Verses 6-7: "Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee." In these verses, Daniel confesses that God had kept his part of the agreement, but that the Jews had not. You see, God's covenants with Israel were conditioned on them keeping their side of the agreement.

Verses 8-11: "O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee. To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him; Neither have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets. Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him." Here Daniel is acknowledging that God's judgment of the Jews was righteous.

Verses 12-13: "And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem. As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth." The Jews were and still are God's chosen people. And as such, they were under a greater responsibility to obey Him even more so than those who were not. The Bible says in Luke 12:48, "But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more." The bottom line, God holds those of us who know the truth more accountable than those who do not.

 Verse 14: "Therefore hath the LORD watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the LORD our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice." Again, Proverbs 28:13 says, "He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy."

Daniel Study | Session 13 | 9:1-2

Today, we get into chapter 9 and discover why the nation had been exiled into captivity and how long that captivity was prophesied to last.

Chapter 9

Daniel's Prayer

Verse 1: "In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans;" Notice, "in first year of Darius" which would have been the year 538 BC.  

Student of Scripture

Verse 2: "In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem." Daniel apparently was a student of Scripture and he had been studying the book of Jeremiah. 2 Timothy 2:15 "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." Apparently, Daniel had looked at Jeremiah 25:11-12 and Jeremiah 29:10-11.

 History tells us that Israel had been destroyed by King Nebcuchadnezzar in 605 BC and it was now 538 BC. How many years had they been in captivity? 67 years.  And Daniel knew this and understood that their captivity was almost over.

Believe It!

You know, something that amazes me is that Daniel just opened up his Bible…..read Jer_25:11…..and believed it. Can you believe it? He took it literally! Why is it that "Bible Scholars" of our day can't seem to do this? They make every excuse under the sun not to take something at face value from the Bible. "Well, he didn't mean 70 years….God was speaking in a metaphorical sense." Well you know, in the original Greek….." 

Why can't we just open up the Bible and take it at face value? Daniel did! John wrote in 1 John, "I write these things that you may know…" We need to stop second guessing God! "WHERE GOD HAS PUT A PERIOD, DON'T CHANGE IT TO A QUESTION MARK!" God has not, and never has been, in the business of confusing people. Paul told the Corinthians, "God is not the author of confusion 1 Corinthians 14:33. Sadly, much of our is the direct result of our arrogance.

Why 70 Years?

The first question that I asked myself when I read this was, Why 70 years?" We are told why in Leviticus 25:1-7 where God told Jeremiah, "And the LORD spake unto Moses in mount Sinai, saying, (2) Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a sabbath unto the LORD. (3) Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof; (4) But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the LORD: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard. (5) That which groweth of its own accord of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, neither gather the grapes of thy vine undressed: for it is a year of rest unto the land. (6) And the sabbath of the land shall be meat for you; for thee, and for thy servant, and for thy maid, and for thy hired servant, and for thy stranger that sojourneth with thee, (7) And for thy cattle, and for the beast that are in thy land, shall all the increase thereof be meat."

And he goes on to say in Leviticus 26:33-35, "And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste. (34) Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths, as long as it lieth desolate, and ye be in your enemies' land; even then shall the land rest, and enjoy her sabbaths. (35) As long as it lieth desolate it shall rest; because it did not rest in your sabbaths, when ye dwelt upon it."

And of course the Israelites did not trust the Lord by giving the land its rest, and as a result God fulfilled His promise to exile them! 2 Chronicles 36:20-21 speaks to this when God says, "And them that had escaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon; where they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia: (21) To fulfil the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfil threescore and ten years." So, God brought destruction upon them because of their failure to trust in His promises.

There is a principle here that you and I must come to grips with as well. God's expectation is that we trust Him! When we trust Him, He brings about blessing. When we fail to trust Him, He doesn't bring about his blessing. Deuteronomy 30:19 says, "I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live;" From this verse we see, that the blessing or lack thereof is entirely dependent upon how much the nation trusted him. 

The same can be said of us today. God promises blessings for obedience! But if we choose not to trust him, the Bible says in Haggai 1, "You have sown much, and bring in little; you eat, but do not have enough; you drink, but you are not filled with drink; you clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; and he who earns wages, earns wages to put into a bag with holes." Thus says the LORD of hosts: "Consider your ways!" We must learn how to trust God! Amen? We can also see an excellent example of this in  Deuteronomy 28. In the end, the world says, "Show me and I will believe you", while God says, "Believe me and I will show you!"

Daniel | Session 12 | 8:19-27

In today's study, we see the interpretation of Daniel's vision of the ram and the goat, and how Antiochus Epiphanes was a type of the coming Antichrist.

Verse 19: "And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation: for at the time appointed the end shall be." Gabriel is projecting these prophecies all the way down to the time of the end. If we understand the book of Daniel, a great part of it has to do with the Gentile age with very little regard for the Jew. 

Daniel's prophecies begin in 600 BC with the birth of Babylon and according to this verse all the way to the end. 

"For at the time appointed" means that God already has this thing worked out. God already has the dates set! He is a date-setter. 

Kings of Media and Persia

Verse 20: "The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia." The two kings of Media and Persia referred to are Darius and Cyrus. Cf. verse 3 which seems to refer that Cyrus was higher.

King of Greece

Verse 21: "And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king." The rough goat here is Greece. The great horn is Greece's first king, Alexander the Great (verses 4-7). Alexander was the son of Philip II of Macedon and became king upon his death between 359 and 336. His title was Alexander III of Macedon. 

Interestingly, a coin was found in Thrace that featured a the head of Alexander on one side with ram's horns on either side of his crown. Historically, the horns were the symbol of the Egyptian god, Amun from whom Alexander claimed to have descended from. In essence, the symbolism implied diety status. Also, interestingly, they were not minted until after his death. 

Grecian Kingdom Broken and Divided

Verse 22: "Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power." That being broken is Alexander the Great.

"Four stood up for it" refers to the four generals Alexander had appointed over his kingdom (v.8) because he had no heir. However, historically, one was born after his death. The four generals were Cassander who took Macedonia, Lysimachus who took Thrace and much of Asia Minor, Seleucus who took Syria, and Ptolemy who took Egypt. Cassander would later order the death of Alexander's wife Roxana, son, and mother to consolidate his power, and would asume the title of Antigonus I. 

However, none of Alexander's generals "possessed his natural intelligence, understanding, or military genius but, even so, would found dynasties which, with exceptions, ruled their respective regions until the coming of Rome."

Duel Fulfillment in Action

Verses 23-25: "And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.  And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand." "In the latter time of their kingdom" refers to these four generals mentioned above. 

"A king of fierce countenance" was primarily fulfilled with Antiochus Epiphanes. However, the ultimate fulfillment of this is the Antichrist.

Two Fulfillments in View

Antiochus was symbolically what the Antichrist will be literally. In verses 9-12 we see him as coming out of Greece. He rose to power around 175 BC. He plundered the temple in Jerusalem and desecrated it by offering pig's flesh on the altar. This is actually recorded in I Maccabees 1-6 in the Apocrypha.

God Manifest

Here's something interesting, his last name Epiphanes means "God Manifest." He was one of the cruelest rulers of Syria as a descendant of Seleucus, one of Alexander's generals.

Maccabean Revolt

The Jewish rebellion which was led by the Maccabees, took place when he made an edict that all in his empire would practice the same religion. Of course, the Jews refused to do this and it led to Antiochus coming to Jerusalem and erecting a statue of the Greek God Zeus in the Temple…the Jews were forced to worship it or be killed. This is referred to by the Jews as the Abomination of Desolation. However, Matthew says that there will be another one (Matthew 24:15). Doesn't all of that sound familiar (Revelation 13:14-15)?

"He shall destroy the mighty and the holy people" is speaking to the destruction and carnage caused by Antiochus, but it also refers to the Antichrist (cf. Rev_6:1-11).

"He shall cause craft to prosper" refers to deceit or witchcraft (Cf. 2Th_2:8-11).

"He shall stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand" cannot be referring to Antiochus (Revelation 19:19-21; Revelation 20:1-3).