Daniel Unlocked #59. Understand!
If the following text seems a bit complicated as we try an unpack it, please refer to the diagram that will follow.
Understanding is a key word when it comes to the book of Daniel. Jesus said “Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the Holy place (whosoever reads, let him understand.) Matthew 24:15. This power is refered to 3 times by this name in the book of Daniel. Twice in reference to “the time of the end” – our time (Daniel 11:40). Three times Jesus had referenced Daniel and this power specifically in Matthew 24, regarding the last days.
Twenty-six times the words understand/understanding/ understood are used in Daniel – far more than any other Bible book proportionally. And in Daniel understanding is often linked with wisdom and knowledge (e.g. see Daniel 1:17). We noticed in Daniel 2:21 that these all came from God. To get wisdom and understanding one needs to get with God. Daniel did that. (see also proverbs 2:6.) Prayer and Bible study is where Daniel met God, and where Daniel received his wisdom, understanding and knowledge. And this wisdom was not for himself but for the glory of God. When in prayer we seek wisdom, knowledge and understanding for the glory of God, we too will receive understanding, as Jesus said we would in Matthew 24:15.
At the end of the vision of the 2,300 evenings and mornings, the prophet was astonished because he could not understand it (Dan. 8:27). Ten years later, Gabriel comes to help Daniel “understand” the vision (Dan. 9:23). This latter revelation supplies the missing information and reveals that the work of the Messiah is to be accomplished toward the end of a period of 70 weeks. According to the year-day principle and the course of the events predicted, the 70 weeks must be understood as 490 years. And the starting point for this period is the command to restore and rebuild Jerusalem (Dan. 9:25). This command is issued by King Artaxerxes in 457 B.C. It allows the Jews under the leadership of Ezra to rebuild Jerusalem (Ezra 7). According to the biblical text, the 70 weeks are “determined,” or “cut off.” This indicates that the time period of 490 years has been cut from a larger time period; that is, from the 2,300 years designated in the vision of chapter 8. It follows from this that the 2,300 years and the 490 years must have the same starting point, namely, 457 B.C. Interestingly this date can also be established backwards – from lukes date for the baptism of Jesus (27 AD and His crucifixion (31AD) in the middle of the last week we get the same beginning date.
The prophecy of the 70 weeks is divided into three sections: seven weeks, 62 weeks, and the seventieth week.
The seven weeks (49 years) most likely refer to the time during which Jerusalem will be rebuilt. After these seven weeks, there will be 62 weeks (434 years) leading to “Messiah the Prince” (Dan. 9:25). Thus, 483 years after Artaxerxes’s decree, that is, in the year A.D. 27, Jesus the Messiah is baptized and anointed by the Holy Spirit for His Messianic mission. (Acts 10:38).
During the seventieth week, other crucial events will take place: (1) “Messiah shall be cut off ” (Dan. 9:26), which refers to the death of Christ. (2) The Messiah “shall confirm a covenant with many for one week” (7 prophetic years) (Dan. 9:27). This is the special mission of Jesus and the apostles to the Jewish nation. It is undertaken during the last “week,” from A.D. 27 to 34. (3) “But in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering” (Dan. 9:27). Three and a half years after His baptism (that is, in the middle of the week/ 7 year period), Jesus brings the sacrificial system to an end—in the sense that it no longer has any more prophetic significance—by offering Himself as the final and perfect sacrifice of the New Covenant, thus voiding the need for any more animal sacrifices. The last week of the 70-week prophecy ends in A.D. 34, when Stephen is martyred and the gospel message begins to reach not only the Jews but the Gentiles, as well. Probation had closed for the nation of Israel. Diagram to follow.
Combine Daniel 9:24-27 with the prophecy of the Passover given in 1445 B.C.,(Exodus 12) and you will find something to astound you. The Passover lamb prefigured the work of Jesus who would become “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29) This Lamb was sacrificed every year on the 14th of Nissan (which is the first month of the Jewish calendar.) There was a lamb sacrificed at 9am in the morning, and the actual Passover Lamb was sacrificed at 3pm – on the eve of the Passover. The Bible calls this the morning and evening sacrifice. Jesus was crucified at 9am in the morning and died 6 hours later at 3pm. This happened on the 14th of Nissan. Paul said “Jesus was our Passover Lamb.” (1Cor 5:6-8.)
Stop and think about this! Between the two prophecies of Daniel 9 and the Passover (Exodus 12) we have the year, the month, the day and the exact hour of Jesus Crucifixion. What is the probability of the Bible being able to predict that? Then add to that the rest of the 300 prophecies for the life of Christ. The evidence is insurmountable! Jesus was who He claimed to be. It stands to reason therefore that you can have faith in what He said, “he who believes in me will have eternal life.” (John 3:15-14, 36; 5:24-25; 6:40 etc etc.)
