Today’s passage: Daniel 9:20-27
Helpful thoughts:
- Daniel was praying for an end of the exile and a return of Israel to worship God in Jerusalem. God reveals to him the decree to rebuild Jerusalem, the future of Israel, the end of sin, and the atonement for iniquity.
- “Weeks” are units of seven. The phrase “seventy weeks” could also be translated, “seventy sevens”.
- The seventy sevens (490 years) are broken into three sections:
- Seven sevens (49 years) – From the time of the decree to go rebuild to the completion of the work under the leadership of Ezra and Nehemiah.
- Sixty-two sevens (434 years) – From the time of Ezra-Nehemiah to the time of Jesus Christ (The “Anointed One” who shall be cut off).
- Events are given after this time… Including the destruction of Jerusalem by the hands of the “people of the prince who is to come”.
- Those people are the Romans (See Daniel 7) and the prince is the Anti-Christ.
- The Romans destroyed Jerusalem in A.D. 70
- Events are given after this time… Including the destruction of Jerusalem by the hands of the “people of the prince who is to come”.
- The final week (7 years) – The Tribulation period
- There are many views as to when the seventy weeks start, stop and carry on. It seems this view above makes the most sense as the years given line up with the events in history as prophesied.
Questions to consider:
- Beyond the timing of certain events, what is God promising in this passage? (Don’t think about when, but what. See verse 24.)
- Why does God fulfill His promises? Should we trust God because these first two prophecies have already been fulfilled or because God is who He is? In other words, does God’s record of fulfilling promises make Him trustworthy, OR does God’s perfect nature make him trustworthy, which is why He always fulfills His promises?