THE KINGDOM OF GOD: ROUND 2

9:1 – first year of Darius…made king over the realm of the Chaldeans [Babylon]

  • Thus, the Jews were no longer under the power of Babylon, but now under the power of Persia (see Dan. 5)

9:2 – the books

  • Based on the rest of this chapter, it seems that the books he studied would have included the writings of Jeremiah, Moses, and Isaiah
  • Examples:
    • Jeremiah 25:11; 29:10 – Jews will suffer 70 years under Babylon, but then have their land and temple restored
      • “I, Daniel, understood…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.” (9:2)
    • Deuteronomy 28:15-68 – “If you do not obey the voice of the Lord your God…all these curses will come upon you and overtake you…” (28:15)
      • Curses: they will be driven from their land (which will lie desloate), defeated by their enemies; their homes, wives, and other things will be taken; a nation they didn’t know will take over the land and people; Israel will serve false gods; they will go into captivity; the nation that will defeat Israel will be swift and far reaching like an eagle (compare Dan. 7:4), and the Hebrews will not understand their language; there will only be a remnant who survive
      • Fulfilled: It seems that many, if not all, of these prophecies were fulfilled in the Babylonian captivity of Israel. 
    • Isaiah 44:23-45:13 – Cyrus will be the “anointed” one [Hebrew “messiah”] (Is. 45:1) whom God uses to restore Israel’s temple and city (Is. 44:28; 45:13)

9:3 – Daniel fasted and prayed

  • After understanding God’s Word, Daniel prayed

9:4-19 – DANIEL’S PRAYER

  • V. 4 – Appeals to God’s character
  • Vv. 5-8 – Confesses sins, identifying himself with the sinning nation: “we”
    • V. 7 – The Jews were scattered to the nations because of their sin
  • V. 9 – Appeals to God’s character
  • Vv. 9-15 – Confesses sins
    • Vv. 11-13 – curses from Law of Moses = Deut. 28:15-68 (see above)
  • Vv. 16-19 – Appeals to God’s character
    • V. 18 – “desolations”, key word throughout Daniel, here refers to the destruction that happened to the Jews when Babylon defeated them and destroyed their temple

9:20-23 – Gabriel appears

  • He comes in the midst of his prayers regarding Jerusalem’s restoration
  • V. 22 – Came to add further understanding to what Daniel had studied, believed, and prayed about
    • Note: Gabriel’s words do not negate Daniel’s understanding of the prophecies related to Jerusalem’s restoration.  Rather, Gabriel seems to acknowledge the veracity of those prophecies, while revealing a new prophecy that is of a more eternal nature.  In other words, the Jews’ restoration is a type/shadow of a fuller restoration that Gabriel here reveals.

9:24 – Seventy weeks (or “sevens”) – Instead of 70 years (see Dan. 9:2), it was 70 weeks/sevens of years = 490 total years

  • “For your people and for your holy city” – prophecy relates to the Jews
  • 6 promises (each promise is eternal, contrasting Daniel’s probable ideas of God’s temporary fulfillments when Israel was freed from Babylon): 
  1. Finish transgression – Temporary Fulfillment: Israel serving 70 years for their sins.

Ultimate Fulfillment: Either refers to the final sin of Israel, and culmination of all their sins, in which they reject Christ (Mt. 23:32; 1 Thes. 2:15-16), or refers to Christ putting away sin by his crucifixion (Heb. 9:26)

  1. Make an end of sin – Temporary Fulfillment: This 70 years was a discipline to bring an end to their sinning and disobedience.

Ultimate Fulfillment: Christ’s purging our sins by his death (Heb. 1:3); could be Hebrew parallelism in which it restates “finish transgression” using different words

  1. Reconciliation for iniquity – Temporary Fulfillment: God saw this 70 years punishment as necessary for Israel to later be reconciled to Him

Ultimate Fulfillment: Those who are sinners and enemies of God can be reconciled to Him through Christ’s death (Rom. 5:8-10; Col. 1:12-22)

  1. Bring everlasting righteousness – Temporary Fulfillment: Israel leaving Babylon, the land of idolatry, and returning to Israel to serve God in righteousness.

Ultimate Fulfillment: Through Christ, all who become part of this kingdom are forever righteous (Rom. 3:21-26; 14:17; 1 Cor. 1:30

  1. Seal up vision and prophecy – Temporary Fulfillment: Prophecies (such as those in Jeremiah and Isaiah) were fulfilled, sealed up, in the restoration of Jerusalem.

Ultimate Fulfillment: Seems to refer to Christ being the fulfillment of all vision and prophecy, thus it is sealed up in Him (Rev. 19:10)

note: Others believe this to mean the blindness that came upon the Jews when they rejected Christ (see Is. 6:9-10; Mt. 13:14-15) (Mauro, Seventy Weeks…)

  1. Anoint the most holy [place] – Temporary Fulfillment: Jerusalem was rebuilt under God’s influence 

Ultimate Fulfillment: Seems to refer to Christ’s anointed presence ministering to those in Jerusalem, or to the Holy Spirit being given at Pentecost, which was celebrated in Jerusalem, or, both events combined.

9:25

  • Starting point of the 490 years: The command to restore Jerusalem.
    • Note:  See Appendix (below) for further information.
    • The starting point of this time period is the ending point of the original 70 years of captivity that Daniel understood by Jeremiah (Dan. 9:2), that being, the restoration of Jerusalem that happened with Cyrus (see Is. 44:23-45:13; 2 Chronicles 36:22-23; Ezra 1:1-4)
      • Possible starting points:
  1. Cyrus
  2. Darius Nothus/Hystaspes (see Ezra 6:1)
  3. Artaxerxes command in the 7th year of his reign (see Ezra 7:7,13,24)
  4. Artaxerxes command in the 20th year of his reign (Neh. 2:1,6-8) 
  5. Note:  There are other starting points that could be mentioned, but these are the most prominent: “Bertholdt (pp. 567, 568) mentions no less than thirteen opinions which have been entertained on this point” (Barnes).
  • First 49 years (7 weeks of years): Accomplishes the rebuilding of the open square and moat of Jerusalem, “Even in troublesome times”.
    • Nehemiah outlines the rebuilding of Jerusalem in troublesome times.  This took place within the first 49 years after the decree of Cyrus, and finished during the time that Joiada was high priest (Nehemiah 13:28), a time which would seem to be around 49 years after the decree to restore and rebuild.
  • After another 434 years (62 weeks of years): Messiah the Prince comes.
    • Luke 3:21-22 – This happened when Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, where He was officially anointed by God’s Spirit, marking the beginning of his public ministry and Kingdom (see 1st Bible study on “Kingdom of God”).
    • Note: Just as Daniel believed the 70 years to end with Cyrus, “the anointed one [messiah]” based on Isaiah’s prophecy (see Is. 45:1), thus Gabriel reveals the Eternal Messiah to come at the end of this period of 70 x 7 years.

9:26

  • After the 483 years (69 weeks of years): Messiah will be cut off.
    • “cut off” = death (see Isaiah 53:8)
    • Fulfilled: After 3.5 years of ministry, Christ was put to death: “the Gospel of John contains information by which it appears that the ministry of Christ lasted three and a half years.  In fact Eusebius, a Christian writer of the fourth century, is quoted as saying: ‘It is recorded in history that the whole time of our Saviour’s teaching and working miracles was three years and a half, which is half a week.  This, John the evangelist will represent (i.e. will make known) to those who critically attend to his Gospel.’” (as qtd. in Mauro, 82-83, emphasis is his)
    • “Not for Himself” – the Hebrew phrase does not necessarily suggest the atonement, rather, Barnes suggests that it means that Christ’s death would be so final that His dominion and ministry and life would end upon his death (that is, until He rises on the 3rd day!).
  • Later, the people of the Prince will destroy Jerusalem’s city and sanctuary.
    • The Prince = Christ, earlier called “Messiah the Prince”.
      • Other notable Bible commentators have suggested this to be Titus who led the Roman armies against Jerusalem.
    • The people of the Prince = doesn’t necessarily mean Christians, but rather, the army of people that God raises up to demolish Jerusalem (see Matt. 22:7)
    • It will end like a flood.  It will have much desolation. – Jesus foresees Jerusalem’s temple destruction using similar description (Matt. 23-24; Luke 21:20)
      • Alludes to “abomination of desolation”, and is fulfilled in Jerusalem’s temple destruction in 70 A.D. (compare Matt. 24:15 with Luke 21:20)

9:27

  • 70th week: He will make covenant with many (presumably Jews, v.24)
    • Jesus’ ministry was aimed primarily toward the Jews (Mark 7:27), though they were unwilling to come to Him (Matt. 23:37-38).  This ministry lasted for 3.5 years.  Then, the apostles carried on His ministry and witnessed only to Jews for roughly 3.5 years until Stephen was martyred (Acts 7) and Cornelius’s household received the gospel (Acts 10). 

*After 3.5 years (the middle of the week): He will end sacrifice and offering.

  • Christ’s death ended sacrifice and offering (Heb. 10:8-9)
  • Upon the wing of the abominations one causing desolation (Barnes).
    • This abomination is the Romans invading Jerusalem’s temple under Titus (compare Matt. 24:15 with Luke 21:20)
    • Lasts until the consummation of these events is fulfilled.

It seems 2 questions will help us understand the relation between Jerusalem’s destruction and God’s Kingdom coming: (1) What happened?  (2) When did it happen?

  1. The destruction of Jerusalem’s temple in 70 A.D. was the utter casting off of the Israelites “after the flesh” who refused to follow Christ.  In relation to God’s Kingdom, this separation of natural Israel from those who accepted Christ (whether they be Jew or Gentile, Gal. 3:28), was a monumental landmark that would bring many to accept the Gospel.  Just as the job of a human king is first the salvation of his people, then the judgment of all who oppose him, so God’s Kingdom began with salvation and was marked in 70 A.D. with manifest judgment on those who rejected Him.
  1. The destruction of Jerusalem’s temple happened 40 years after Christ’s ministry and inauguration of the Kingdom.  Consistently in the Bible, 40 is a number signifying testing and probation: 40 days of rain waters upon the ark; 40 years of wandering in the desert; 40 lashes for punishing that does not kill/humiliate (Deut. 25:2-3); 40-year reigns of Saul, David, and Solomon; Jesus’ 40 days in the desert.  Thus, the Jews were given a probationary period of 40 years to see if they would repent and believe the gospel of Christ.  Since they remained stubborn and blind during these 40 years, God overtly showed that his Kingdom was established in opposition to this, thus Jesus describes this event as “the kingdom of God present with power” (Mark 9:1).    
    • The writer assumes this verse refers to Jerusalem’s destruction because the time period prophesied in Mark 9:1 (and Luke 9:27) is long enough to anticipate many dying, but short enough that some of Jesus’ disciples would still be alive, thus, 70 A.D. is surely the best fit. 

FINAL NOTE

The ninth chapter was to comfort the faithful Jews, in the midst of the “abominations” against “the covenant,” with the prospect of Messiah who would “confirm the covenant.”  He would show by bringing salvation, and yet abolishing sacrifices, that the temple service which they so grieved after, was not absolutely necessary; thus the correspondence of phraseology would suggest comfort (compare Dan. 9:27 with 11:30,31).

– Jamieson, Fausset, Brown

APPENDIX

Matthew Henry’s Commentary:

(2.) The difficulties that arise about these seventy weeks are, [1.] Concerning the time when they commence and whence they are to be reckoned. They are here dated from the going forth of the commandments to restore and to build Jerusalem, Daniel 9:25. I should most incline to understand this of the edict of Cyrus mentioned Ezra 1:1, for by it the people were restored; and, though express mention be not made there of the building of Jerusalem, yet that is supposed in the building of the temple, and was foretold to be done by Cyrus, Isaiah 44:28. He shall say to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built. That was, both in prophecy and in history, the most famous decree for the building of Jerusalem; nay, it should seem, this going forth of the commandment (which may as well be meant of God’s command concerning it as of Cyrus’s) is the same with that going forth of the commandment mentioned Daniel 9:23, which was at the beginning of Daniel’s supplications. And it looks very graceful that the seventy weeks should begin immediately upon the expiration of the seventy years. And there is nothing to be objected against this but that by this reckoning the Persian monarchy, from the taking of Babylon by Cyrus to Alexander’s conquest of Darius, lasted but 130 years; whereas, by the particular account given of the reigns of the Persian emperors, it is computed that it continued 230 years. So Thucydides, Xenophon, and others reckon. Those who fix it to that first edict set aside these computations of the heathen historians as uncertain and not to be relied upon. But others, willing to reconcile them, begin the 490 years, not at the edict of Cyrus (Ezra 1:1), but at the second edict for the building of Jerusalem, issued out by Darius Nothus above 100 years after, mentioned Ezra 6:1-12 Others fix on the seventh year of Artaxerxes Mnemon, who sent Ezra with a commission, Ezra 7:8-12. The learned Mr. Poole, in his Latin Synopsis, has a vast and most elaborate collection of what has been said, pro and con, concerning the different beginnings of these weeks, with which the learned may entertain themselves.