DANIEL NINE OUTLINED

INTRODUCTION

A. Daniel reading the books (9:1,2).

B. Intercessory prayer (9:3-19).

C. Angelic answer (9:20-23).

DISCUSSION

I.         DANIEL'S SEVENTY WEEKS (9:24-27).

A. Literal or figurative.

B.  Interpretations based on presuppositions.

1. The higher critical approach.

2.  The premillennial view.

3.  The Max King, A.D. 70 theory.

II.       DESIGN OF THE PROPHECY.

III.     THINGS ARE DETERMINED.

A. The Jewish nation, Jerusalem and the temple.

B.  The work of the Messiah.

IV.      THE GOING FORTH OF THE COMMANDMENT.

A.  The decree of Cyrus, 536 B.C.

B. The decree of Artaxerxes, 457 B.C.

C.  The decree of Artaxerxes, 444 B.C.

V.        SIX THINGS TO BE ACCOMPLISHED BY THE MESSIAH.

A. Finish transgression.

B.  Make an end of sins.

C. Make reconciliation for iniquity.

D.  Bring in everlasting righteousness.

E.  Seal up vision and prophecy.

F. Anoint the Most Holy.

DISCUSSION

 
I. THE SEVENTY WEEKS OF DANIEL (Daniel 9:24-27).

This passage has proved to be the "playground" for those whose minds are constantly milling in the prophetic realm.  Charles Spurgeon expressed his frustration with the flood of books on prophetic themes by saying "...we could not in our conscience believe that a tithe of them would yield anything to the student but bewilderment..." (Quoted by Wilbur Smith in The Minister in His Study, p. 114).  Truly, men through the ages have confounded and confused the religious world with their wild and fanciful speculations on prophecy and the book of Daniel in general.  Chapter 9 in particular has been a favorite source of their mischief.  John Calvin said the Jews of his time "cast a mist" over this passage.

          The “seventy weeks passage” (Daniel 9:24-27) is a glorious prophecy of the kingdom of Christ and of the atonement by which the Messiah fulfilled the prophets, brought in the new covenant, put an end to the hold sin had over men by providing reconciliation to God, and inaugurated the kingdom of everlasting righteousness.  It also ties in these accomplishments of Christ with the fact that the Jews rejected Him and thereby brought upon themselves God’s wrath in the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in A.D. 70.

          At the same time, Daniel 9:24-27 poses perplexing questions even to us who believe that it is an inspired, inerrant prophecy of Christ.  “Interpretation is called for, and interpretation of prophecy often is dictated by positions taken beforehand by interpreters. We need to look at the possibilities and to try to sort out those views that fit an honest exegesis, harmonize known principles about prophecy, agree with inspired interpretations and build up our own faith” (51st Annual Ohio Valley Church Lectures, The Book of Daniel, Charles Aebi, p. 58).
II. “SEVENTY SEVENS."

 Daniel was told that a period of seventy "sevens" has been "DETERMINED" upon the "JEWS" and upon their "CITY" (Jerusalem).

One must first determine whether the words “seventy weeks” are literal or figurative, i.e., whether there is a literal or symbolic meaning of the weeks:

1.  A literal meaning of the weeks would get us a little less than a year and a half, a very short time. Few (if any) take this view because the events referred to could not have happened in such a short space of time.

2.  Most conservative Bible scholars use the year-day principle of Leviticus 25:8; Numbers 14:34 and Ezekiel 4:6 to give us seventy sevens (heptads, Leupold) or 490 days, each of which stands for a year, making 490 years.  The 7 weeks become 7 x 7 = 49 years; the three score and two weeks (62 weeks) then become 62 x 7 = 434 years; and the 1 week = 7 years, making a total 490 years.

 
3. Some (like McGuiggan, Keil, Young, and Leupold) view the numbers as symbolic--70 sevens or any multiples of those numbers, symbolize completeness--70x7, as in Genesis 4:24, Matthew 18:21-23 and often in Revelation.  This wholly symbolic completeness approach most likely comes from their interpretation of the fate of the city of Jerusalem in A.D. 70.  This will be discussed more fully in the outline.

There are some interpretations that must be rejected because they are based on faulty presuppositions:

1.  A thoroughly liberal or "critical" presupposition demonstrates a bias against the miraculous and supernaturalism that applies Daniel 9:24-27 to the times just before the Maccabean period.  H. C. Leupold (Exposition of Daniel, p. 404) accurately observes that "this class of commentators usually has too many years at its disposal."  Liberals don't believe in predictive prophecy, so they date Daniel 9 at around 160 B.C.  They have him recounting history rather than foretelling it.

2. A premillennial presupposition forces Archer, Gaebelein, and other Premillennialists to insist that while some of Daniel 9:24-27 applies to Christ's life and death, some of it must yet be fulfilled.  To them, the 70th week has not yet occurred or at least is not yet finished.  This, of course, forces them to say that the numbers are not to be taken literally as 490 years, but are symbolic: as it is, they have a gap of over 1900 years between the 69th and 70th week or its end. 

3. The A.D. 70 presupposition forces Max King to end the 69th week at Christ's crucifixion and start the 70th week at the destruction of Jerusalem which he supposes is Christ's return, the end of the world, and the "restitution of all things" referred to in Acts 3:21ff.  His presupposition forces him to have an unaccountable forty-year gap between the 69th and 70th week of Daniel 9:24.  It also runs him beyond the A.D. 70 date for the rest of the 70th week (Aebi).

The Babylonian Captivity had lasted seventy years.  Daniel had been praying in reference to seventy years in Captivity. He is told that seven times that period (70 "weeks" or "sevens"; 70 X 7) are determined upon the Jews and Jerusalem.

III. DESIGN OF THE PROPHECY.

A.  The Messiah’s earthly advent and its purpose (24).
B.  The beginning point of the prophetical 70 weeks (25a).
C.  The initial phase of the prophecy--the rebuilding of Jerusalem (25b).
D.  The Messiah’s death (26a).
E.  Jerusalem and the temple to be destroyed because of the Jewish rejection of       the Messiah (26b).
F.  The Messiah’s covenant replaces the former covenant (27a).
G. The full end of the Jewish system (27b).

(Christian Courier, Daniel’s Seventy Weeks, Wayne Jackson, Vol. 15, Issues 5,6,7).

IV. “THINGS ARE DETERMINED.”

Things are "determined" upon the Jewish Nation (9:24), and upon the city of Jerusalem (from the rebuilding of Jerusalem until the Messiah--Christ).  A further "determination" is made by the Messiah in the "midst" of the final week (a determination of further desolation, 9:26,27, Jerusalem destroyed by the Romans, A.D. 70).

 
Daniel is told that the Jews would come out of the Babylonian Captivity.  But the nation would have troublesome times and would become so apostate as to crucify the Son of God.  He is told of the ultimate fate of the Jewish Nation—the destruction of  Jerusalem (Judaism), by the Romans, A.D. 70.  Daniel 9:26,27 is what Jesus referred to in Matthew 24:15.

When Daniel was told to know and understand this information he is being encouraged to have absolute confidence that both of these important events would transpire (Smith, p. 385).

V. TWO SUBJECTS BEING DISCUSSED.

NOTE: This prophecy is difficult to understand unless the student makes the proper division between the two subjects being discussed.  Statements applicable to the city of Jerusalem are in proper sequence, and all statements applicable to the Messiah are in proper sequence.

Statements Pertaining to the   Statements Pertaining to
      City of Jerusalem     the Messiah

"Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem...shall be seven weeks... the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times" (9:25). "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" (9:25).
"And the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined (9:26). "And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself" (9:26).
 "And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease" (9:27).

NOTE: Some of this prophecy deals with the Messiah and his work, some with Jerusalem and the temple, from the rebuilding to another desolation or destruction by the Romans in A.D. 70.  Notice very carefully the time schedule (9:25)--"From the going forth...unto the Messiah" = 69 "weeks" or 69 "sevens" or 483 years.

 
VI. THE SEVENTY WEEKS SUBDIVIDED.

 7 Weeks   7  X  7   =   49  Years......."From the going forth"
          62 Weeks      62  X  7   = 434 Years........This period is normally called the "silent               years" between the testaments and         brings us up to the time of the Messiah.
 1 Week   1  X  7   =     7 Years........This one week is further divided in half:
         3 ½ and 3 ½.  
____________________________
70 Weeks       or        490 Years

Seeing that this is divided into particular “time slots,” we must come to appreciate the uniqueness of this amazing prophecy.  A “time” prophecy is very exacting and demands that it be fulfilled in the time span that God has allotted. It cannot fall short or go beyond the time frame in which God has placed it.  This places a great burden on those of a premillennial persuasion.  They want the last half of the week of this prophecy to expand 2,000 years from the 1st century fulfillment to the 21st century!

VII. THE FINAL ONE WEEK.

This week is isolated by divine intent and purpose--it is the culmination of all God had in mind in the Old Testament (the coming Messiah).  The Messiah shall be cut off, a reference to the premature and violent death of the Messiah.  The Syriac Version of the Bible simply says, “the Messiah shall be slain.”  Here we see a link with the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53:8:  “He was cut off out of the land of the living.”

When He is cut off he shall have nothing.  Jesus had nothing in that He left no posterity (but see Isaiah 53:10); was rejected by His own people and nation (John 1:11); at His trial and crucifixion His closest disciples denied Him, forsook Him and fled. Ultimately He was even rejected by His Father (Matthew 27:46) while bearing our sins on the tree.

“And He shall make a firm covenant with many for one week” in which the gospel of the Messiah would be preached to the Jew first in Jerusalem and Judea (Romans 1:16; Acts 13:46).  By the time of the Samaritans--Acts 8 (about 3 ½ years after Pentecost), this "prophetic week" was fulfilled.  Thus, the new covenant was confirmed with many Jews.  Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, was converted about 3 to 4 years after the death of Christ (Zondervan’s Encyclopedia, I,  p. 822).  (Some extend the period up to the time of Cornelius in Acts 10).

During this last "prophetic week" the determination was made by Christ concerning the destruction of Jerusalem (cf. Daniel 9:26,27 with Matthew 24).  However, Jerusalem was not destroyed by the Romans until A.D. 70.  NOTE: The statements about the fall of Jerusalem (9:26b and 9:27b) are prophesied by Jesus in Matthew 24.  He did this in the first half of the last week.  Roy Deaver points out:

 
“It should be pointed out that the prophecy does not say that the city would be destroyed within the span of the one week. Rather, it says that within that week the destruction of the city was determined (my emphasis, ebd).  One could hardly read verses 26 and 27 without recalling our Lord’s words: ‘Behold your house is left unto you desolate’” (Matthew 23:38).

VIII. SIX THINGS PERTAIN TO THE TIME OF THE FIRST ADVENT OF THE MESSIAH AND TO THE SETTING UP OF HIS KINGDOM.

When Jesus came the first time, His purpose was to deal with the problem of sin (Matthew 1:21; 20:28; 26:28; Luke 19:10; 1 Timothy 1:15, 1 Peter 1: 18-20).

 “The ultimate finality of Christ’s work in dealing with sinful humanity is underscored in Hebrews 9:26,28.  He was manifested to put away sin!  In connection with this mission of the Messiah, Isaiah 53 is strikingly similar.  Note Isaiah’s use of “transgression” (53:5,8,12), “sin” (10,12), and “iniquity” (5,6,11).  Now here is a vital point: Isaiah 53 is quoted frequently in the NT and applied to the first coming of Christ.  Obviously, therefore, since Daniel 9:24ff is parallel in emphasis, it points to that initial coming of the Lord, and not to his second coming as alleged by dispensationalists” (Wayne Jackson, Christian Courier).

A.  “Finish transgression.”  Transgression was “finished” when Jesus died and arose from the dead, triumphant over death, the grave, hades, and Satan (Revelation 1:17,18; Colossians 2:15).  In the Genesis 3:15 prophecy Satan would bruise the heel of the seed of the woman--a non-fatal wound, but He would bruise Satan’s head--giving him a death-blow. Thus, the reign of sin and death was finished (Romans 7:24-8:2).

B.  “Make an End of Sins” (sin offerings, Clarke, p.602).  This the Messiah did with the one-time offering of Himself for sin (Hebrews 10:5-18).  The constant need of daily sacrifice for sin ended when Jesus shed his blood and the veil of the temple was rent in two from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51).

C.  “Make Reconciliation For Iniquity.”  We are reconciled (make friends with again) when the atonement price has been paid (Romans 5:11; 2 Corinthians 5:17-19).  Sin was covered over with the blanket of blood shed by Jesus (Zechariah 13:1); the propitiation has been offered (Romans 3:25; 1 John 2:2; 4:10).  This image of “covering” sin “never designates any thing else other than the forgiveness of sin, the covering of sin by the veil of mercy, so that the eye of the angry Judge cannot find it” (Hengstenberg, Christology of the Old Testament, p. 407).

D.  "Bring in Everlasting Righteousness."  The righteousness brought by the Messiah is eternal in duration as opposed to that of the fleeting gifts and promises of the Old Law (Galatians 2:21; 3:21; Hebrews 7:11ff).  The righteousness given by the Messiah is everlasting because it comes from Him who is everlasting; He is “the sun of righteousness with healing in His wings” (Malachi 4:2).

 
 E.  "Seal Up the Vision and Prophecy."  All Old Testament prophecies would be completed, fulfilled in Christ--including Daniel's (Luke 24:25-27,44).  Some 300 plus prophecies of the Old Testament pointing to the coming of Jesus Christ were fulfilled in His life, death, resurrection, ascension and reign as our priest king.  Old Testament prophecy was brought to an end by the appearance of the Messiah--He fulfilled its task, it was no longer needed; therefore it was "sealed up."  The New Testament shows that Christ is the end, the fulfillment, the antitype, the confirmation of all prophecy (2 Corinthians 1:20; Revelation 19:11).  But the Premillennialists would have us keep prophecy “open” allowing them to run rampant with Scriptures to the delusion and destruction of many souls.

F.  "Anoint the Most Holy" has three possibilities and perhaps includes all three:

1.  Many believe that this phrase refers to Christ receiving the Holy Spirit at His baptism (Luke 4:18ff; Acts 10:38). 

2.  “Because of this word’s frequent use with the consecration, and appointment of kings (cf. 1 Samuel 9:6; 10:1; 15:1; 2 Samuel 2:4; 1 Kings 1:34), priests (Exodus 28:41; 40:15), and prophets (1 Kings 19:16; Isaiah 6:1), some have been taking the word in Daniel 9:24 to refer to the consecration and appointment of the Messiah, “the Anointed One,” which He fills under the New Testament Economy.  He is both King (Acts 17:7; 1 Timothy 6:14,15; Revelation 1:4,5; 17:14; 19:6), Priest (Hebrews 4:14,15; 5:1ff; 6:20; 7:1ff; 8:1-4, and Prophet (Matthew 17:5; Acts 3:22,23; Hebrews 1:1,2; 12:25).”  (Daniel Denham, The Defender, p. 29, March, 1983).

3.  A third explanation is that it refers to the fulfillment by Christ of the figure presented in the Feast of the Atonement in the Old Testament.  In that feast the blood of the sacrifice was taken by the high priest into the Holy Place where it was sprinkled on the mercy seat (Hebrews 9: 1-12).  When Christ shed His blood He anointed heaven itself (Hebrews 9:23,24).

IX. THE GOING FORTH OF THE COMMANDMENT.

NOTE:  Different edicts were issued by Persian Kings allowing the Jews to return to Jerusalem.  Here is where the difficulty arises--When?, what year?, was the command "go forth" (Daniel 9:25) to "restore and build Jerusalem” given?  The following three dates are usually discussed in this regard:

1.  The decree of Cyrus, 536 B.C.  Zerubbabel's return.
Philip Mauro, in his book The Seventy  Weeks of Daniel, argues for Cyrus' decree.

2.  The decree of Artaxerxes I, 457 B.C.  Ezra's return. 
Wayne Jackson (Christian Courier, Vol XV, Nos. 5, 6, 7, 1979) argues for this date. This is the most acceptable date.

3.  The decree of Artaxerxes I, 444 B.C.  Nehemiah's return.
When Daniel was told to know and understand this information he is being encouraged to have absolute confidence that both of these important events would transpire (Smith, p. 385).

 
“Subtracting 483 years from the starting point of 457 B.C. the year A.D. 27 is reached.  In the modern system of counting years there is no year zero.  Hence the year A.D. 27 must be reduced by one for chronological accuracy.  According to Daniel, Messiah-Prince would appear in A.D. 26.  It is surely more than a coincidence that the baptism of Jesus occurred in A.D. 26.  (According to Luke 3:1ff. it was the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberias Caesar that John began his ministry.  Finegan (Handbook of Bible Chronology, pp. 259-69) dates the baptism of Jesus to November, A.D. 26).  At that time John introduced him to the nation as their Messiah, the Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world” (Smith, p. 386).

         Emanuel Daugherty