Revelation Six - When The Four Horsemen Ride

Daniel 9 - A Biblical Overview of Daniel, Part 7

JOHN LITTLE

MAR 30

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Daniel 9 is maybe the most important chapter in the Bible, for it lays down the timing of the coming of our Lord and Savior - and His sacrifice upon the Cross. And maybe that is why it is one of the most fought-over passages.

Part of the problem lies in bad translations and a poor command of Hebrew. Another comes from well-meaning pronouncements by good brothers in Christ that were in error, mistakes that would be used by others to create even greater errors.

The vast majority of these errors were honest attempts at the truth. So, let's make an honest attempt at getting Daniel 9 right.

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In the first two verses, Daniel describes how he had been reading the Book of Jeremiah and discovers that God had decreed that Jerusalem would be desolate for 70 years.

1 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the lineage of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans— 2 in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years specified by the word of the Lord through Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.
- Daniel 9:1-2 (NKJV)

As old as Daniel is at this point, it should be clear that it took a while for this book to get into his hands. Jeremiah would not have finished his prophecies until the remnant of Judah had fled to Egypt. And, it would have been Baruch ben Neriah who would have been responsible for making as many copies of this book as possible, while trying to get them into the hands of Israelis in exile. So, it's logical that it would have taken time for a copy of the Book of Jeremiah to get into the hands of Daniel.

When he gets to the shocking news of how long Jerusalem will be desolate, Daniel immediately begins to fast and pray in sackcloth and ashes, confessing his sins and the sins of the people. He begs God to turn His righteous anger away from Israel and Judah and the exiles that He has scattered across the face of the earth. Daniel begs for mercy for Jerusalem and the Temple that has been destroyed, and he asks the Lord that He would turn away his wrath for His own name's sake.

This passage, from verse three to verse nineteen, is heartbreaking. You can feel the anguish that afflicts Daniel, for his people and for Jerusalem. He is devastated and begs with all his heart for mercy from God, even though he knows that such mercy is completely undeserved.

My own heart resonates with the grief that Daniel feels. I, like many others, have earnestly prayed that God would save Israel, and bring her people back from their idolatry. We are heartbroken that every Jew that dies without faith in Christ, goes to an eternity of torment. And, when any Jew suffers, we suffer with them. But as we see in the next section, God sends His angel to comfort Daniel with more than just the rebuilding of Jerusalem, but the coming of Messiah.

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:
- Daniel 9:20-23 (NKJV)

And, the first thing that Gabriel does is explain what the prophecy will be about. He is defining what it is, who it's for and how long it will take. Anything that is not part of this defining verse, is not a key part of what he is talking about.

“Seventy weeks are determined
For your people and for your holy city,
To finish the transgression,
To make an end of sins,
To make reconciliation for iniquity,
To bring in everlasting righteousness,
To seal up vision and prophecy,
And to anoint the Most Holy.
- Daniel 9:24 (NKJV)

I'm normally a bit irritated by the NKJV inserting so many line breaks into the scriptures, as if that makes what is said more meaningful. But, this time, for this verse, I completely approve. You can almost feel Gabriel speaking in bullet points in this verse.

Those 70 weeks (or seventy sevens) are for his people and the Holy city:

Finish the transgression (i.e., end the rebellion against God)

Make an end of sin (i.e., end the breaking of commandments)

Make reconciliation for iniquity (i.e., atone for immorality)

Gabriel covers all the bases by using three completely different words for sinfulness and says that they will be eliminated. But, it's not enough to end sin, so he also says this:

Bring in righteousness everlasting(s).

Gabriel said Tseh-dek Oh-lah-meem (צדק עלמים). That's like saying righteousness for many eternities. Oh-lam is just one eternity. Put an -eem on the end, and it's more than one. It's a very curious way of emphasizing how long this righteousness will last. Having said that, Oh-lam can also mean world. So, you could say that righteousness was being brought in for this world and the world to come.

Then something interesting is said:

Seal vision and prophecy

Remember the scroll with Seven Seals that no one could open, except the Lamb that was slain?

That's Revelation 5, 6 and 7. According to Gabriel, Jesus was going to seal the vision and prophecy, and we know from Revelation that only He will be able to open the seals - so that the prophecies about the Last Days can be completed.

For those who didn't get a chance to read my Overview of Revelation, I go into that, here:

Part 4 | Revelation 6-8:1
The Seven Seals And The Redemption Of Israel

And, for 2000 years, vision and prophecy about the Last Days has been firmly sealed - at least for most Christians. It looks to me like the First Seal and maybe the Second Seal have been opened, but it's hard to say.

However, the last statement by Gabriel in verse 24, makes all the rest possible:

Anoint the Most Holy

Literally, in Hebrew 'Most Holy' is קדש קדשים (Koh-desh Kah-dah-sheem), and that literally means Holy of Holies.

What is that and where is it?

Well, when Jesus said this to Mary Magdalene after He had risen from the dead and was waiting for His disciples to appear:

Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.
- John 20:17 (KJV)

What was it that Jesus needed to do, when He ascended to His Father?

Anoint the Holy of Holies in the Temple that was in Heaven with His blood. That made everything that Jesus had done, permanent. He was the final sacrifice, and we would no longer need temple sacrifices that had never been enough in the eyes of God.

The next verse should be pretty easy to understand, even though I've seen some confusion over it:

“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 shall be built again, and the wall,
Even in troublesome times.
- Daniel 9:25 (NKJV)

So, from the moment that the command is made to build Jerusalem - NOT THE TEMPLE - there will be 69 weeks until Messiah comes (62 + 7 = 69). And that decree to build Jerusalem and its walls, did not occur until a hundred years after the decree to build the Temple. So people who want to go on and on about Cyrus, need to stop.

The decree to build the city of Jerusalem was made by Artaxerxes I in 457 BC.

So, let's do a bit of calculating:

Sixty Nine Weeks is 483 years.

When we subtract 457 years, we get 26 years, as in AD 26.

OOPS.

Houston, we've had a problem. It looks like our calculations are wrong. Jesus should have started His ministry in AD 30. So, there's a problem. (Well... actually, no.)

The problem comes from some dude named Dennis the Small (Dionysius Exiguus). He made a four year mistake in his math, but once we found the error, it was too late. We're stuck with the calendar that we have.

(Thanks a lot, Dennis.)

So, now we know that Jesus was actually born in 4 BC. This fixes everything, except for the irony of Jesus being born 'four years before Christ'. That's a lot of irony.

So, considering all the other problems of trying to calculate when who did what. It still turns out that AD 26 was when Jesus was 30 years old, and that was exactly the date we're looking for.

Jesus began His ministry after the 69th week was complete.

And THAT is where we will be ruffling some feathers, because no one wants to believe that this was when Jesus was baptized and anointed by the Holy Spirit, becoming the 'Anointed One' - Mashiach - at the beginning of week 70.

This brings us to verses 26 and 27 of Daniel 9. And since no translation gets those two verses right, I needed to do it myself:

VERSE 26 – And after sixty and two weeks will Mashiach be cut off, but not for himself: and a people of a prince that shall come and destroy the city and the holy place, and its end in the overflow, and to an end war is desolations determined.
VERSE 27 – And, a covenant shall be confirmed to many, for one week. And, [at] half of the week, there is a ceasing of sacrifice and offering. And, to the wing of abominations, devastation – until completeness and destruction is poured on [the] devastated.
– Daniel 9:26-27, JLV (John Little Version)

Except for two words in [brackets], that is a word-for-word translation of the original Hebrew. Remember that Jesus didn't become the Anointed One - Mashiach - until after He was anointed. However, your Bibles routinely say Messiah.

What gives?

Well, for some reason that probably is all about foolish tradition, Hebrew words are always messed up. For instance, the angel speaking to Daniel is actually Gahv-ree-el, not Gay-bree-el. And James the brother of John and James the half-brother of Jesus were actually called Ya'acov. Isaac is actually Yitz-hahk. Abraham is Av-rah-ham. Eve is Havah, and on and on and on and on....

Completely maddening.

Now, where was I...

So, Jesus begins His ministry in AD 26, after the 62 weeks in verse 26. And, it's also after week 62 that He's 'cut off'.

When is He cut off?

We'll see that in verse 27. However, Gavriel inserts a parenthetical phrase into this prophecy.

What is a 'parenthetical phrase'?

From the Cambridge Dictionary:

A parenthetical remark is said in addition to the main part of what you are saying or writing.

So, a parenthetical phrase is a phrase that is in addition to the main part of what is being said. So, let's look at verse 26 again, this time using parentheses to show the parenthetical phrase:

VERSE 26 – And after sixty and two weeks will Mashiach be cut off, but not for himself:
(and a people of a prince that shall come and destroy the city and the holy place, and its end in the overflow, and to an end war is desolations determined.)

This means that we should jump over the parenthetical phrase to see the rest of what happened:

VERSE 27 – And, a covenant shall be confirmed to many, for one week. And, [at] half of the week, there is a ceasing of sacrifice and offering.
(And, to the wing of abominations, devastation – until completeness and destruction is poured on [the] devastated.)

Notice that I inserted a set of parentheses into the last half of that verse, because yes... that is also a parenthetical phrase, which is connected to the previous one.

What were these parenthetical phrases about?

The destruction of Jerusalem in AD70 by the army of Titus on behalf of emperor Vespasian. (i.e., The people of a Prince.) And, that's the parenthetical phrase in verse 26.

What about verse 27?

Well, the devastation of the Jewish people continues on to today and will continue until God Redeems them as He promised that He would. And, it seems like the world is moving towards that great confrontation that we call the coming of Gog and Magog, as described in Ezekiel 38 and 39.

Verse 27 speaks of a covenant - a brit - that is confirmed for one week, but offerings and sacrifices cease in the midst of that week.

By now, it should be pretty clear about what we are talking about. The three and a half year ministry of Jesus was His presentation of the Covenant that He would make. That covenant caused the sacrifices and offerings described by Torah to end.

Yes, people would still be killing animals and giving stuff to the temple, but the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus ended all of that. To God, it was over. And when God says that something over, it's O-V-E-R.

This is why the first half of verse 27 is all about Jesus, and the everlasting covenant that He made with us:

And, a covenant shall be confirmed to many, for one week. And, [at] half of the week, there is a ceasing of sacrifice and offering.

When He said that it was FINISHED, it was finished. Praise God that we are no longer required to go and offer sacrifices that God was never satisfied with.

But wait, where's the Antichrist?

The Anti-WHAT?

Yeah. The Antichrist.
People say that he's in Daniel 9.

I'm sorry to disappoint so many, and ruffle their feathers, but there is no Antichrist anywhere in Daniel 9. We'll get to him in Daniel 11, but he's not here in this chapter.

Unfortunately, for my Dispensationalist friends, this destroys Dispensationalism. If Jesus ended the sacrifice and offering, then there cannot be a Third Temple. It just cannot happen.

But, if there isn't a Third Temple, where does the Antichrist set up his Abomination of Desolation that Jesus talked about?

Well, here's what Jesus said as a part of His Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24 and 25:

14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
- Matthew 24:14-16 (KJV)

People keep trying to say that Jesus was referring to Daniel 9, but He wasn't. Jesus was referring to Daniel 11. In fact, this verse:

31 And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.
- Daniel 11:31 (KJV)

TRANSLATION NOTE: The words 'daily sacrifice' do not say that in the original Hebrew. The word is התמיד (ha-Tah-meed), meaning 'the continual' or 'the always'. That Hebrew word describes giving stuff to the priests. The ha'Tameed is exactly what you do, when you give tithes to your church.

You might want some context to what the Antichrist is doing, so read Daniel 11:21-45. So, that's where the Antichrist...

But wait...

(Oh no, not another question!)

...what about when Jesus said 'holy place'?

Well, we know about what a 'place' is, so the question is about this word 'holy'. I'm not an expert in Greek, but the word in Greek is Hagio (ἁγίῳ) and the root word is Hagios (ἅγιος). And, you can find it used 229 times in the New Testament. And, when you meet for church this Sunday - or Saturday, in Israel - that place you are meeting will be Hagio - holy. It's purpose will be Hagio. Your thoughts and praise toward God will be Hagio. So, I think that we understand the 'holy place' that Jesus was referring to.

When Israel comes to saving faith in Christ, do you really think that they'll be building a TEMPLE?

Making SACRIFICES?

Nope. That is just not going to happen.

What they will do is build a church building. Lots of them. But, the one on the 'Temple Mount' will be big, and it will probably run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

And, those offerings that people talk about?

I hope that you are doing those. They are called tithes. You could give your pastor some sheep or goats as a part of your tithe, but you normally give money instead. (Few pastors would know what to do with sheep or goats, but they might taste pretty good with lots of barbecue sauce.)

NOTE: By the way, one of my favorite pastors, early in his ministry was actually given eggs as a part of the offering church members gave him. He said that his wife learned how to cook eggs in every way imaginable.

So, what conclusion can we take from all of this?

Jesus fulfilled all of what the angel Gavriel said:

“Seventy weeks are determined
For your people and for your holy city,
-> To finish the transgression,
-> To make an end of sins,
-> To make reconciliation for iniquity,
-> To bring in everlasting righteousness,
-> To seal up vision and prophecy,
-> And to anoint the Most Holy.
- Daniel 9:24 (NKJV)

Jesus did all of that, and now sits at the Right Hand of the Father:

The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.
- Psalm 110:1 (KJV)

One day, in the not-too-distant future, Israel will come to Christ. I did a deep dive into when this will happen in When Gog Comes. And, I investigated the global cataclysm that will also occur at the same time in Ezekiel's Fire. And all of that will come long before the Antichrist and the Great Tribulation.

I would like for all of you to at least be mentally and spiritually ready for that.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
שאלו שלום ירושלים

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My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
Because you have rejected knowledge,
I also will reject you... Hosea 4:6

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Keep this ministry alive with a donation.

And, read my two books:

https://whengogcomes.com/

https://ezekielsfire.com/

I created five Android Apps that will help you read through the Bible in a Year. You can find them here:

https://revelationsix.com/android-apps/

If you miss my rantings about geopolitics, idiocy, resource collapse and incompetent globalism, follow me on Twitter.