The Answer to Daniel’s Prayer (Dan. 9:20-27)

This sermon was preached on 4/3/2012

In the previous part of Daniel 9, we have the remarkable prayer offered to God by Daniel. It is an example of a prayer that was responded to immediately by God. It was not answered straightaway; the answer would come when the details mentioned in verses 24-27 would be fulfilled. What happens in this section of Daniel 9 is that he is given assurance that his prayer has been heard. There are three details that I want to highlight about this divine response.

First, it is obvious that this type of divine response is not given to everyone, which raises the question as to why this is the case. One answer is that God only gives it as he sees fit, which is true, but this explanation can be given in such a way as to make God seem arbitrary. We can almost use this explanation as an excuse for not having another reason as to why all don’t receive it. I would suggest that the reason for this divine response is found in the description given of Daniel by Gabriel when he says that Daniel is ‘greatly loved’ by God. What did Daniel do that caused God to love him greatly? The answer is straightforward: he spent time with God, studied God’s Word, obeyed it, and used it when praying passionately with the Lord. And the Lord responded and gave him this response.

Sinclair Ferguson explains this experience of Daniel: ‘Daniel was loved in heaven because he lived for God. His waking moments were dominated by God’s covenant purposes. He lived to see God’s city restored so that the Lord’s name might be praised among the nations; he longed to re-experience the ancient sacrificial rites that reminded the people daily of their sin and their need of salvation, and the way by which God had promised to bring them forgiveness. Both in Old and New Testament teachings God dwells with such... [Isa. 57:15; John 14:21, 23]. Daniel experience was nothing less than a foretaste of this.’

Second, the Lord’s response concerned matters that Daniel would not live to see. As we have noticed before, he is now about eighty-five years old. Previously he has been given information about the four world empires that would arise and he has lived long enough to see the collapse of the first and its replacement by the second. Of course, Daniel’s main interest was not in the rise and fall of world empires; instead he was concerned about the fate of God’s people during their reigns, and in particular at this time of prayer with what would happen to the city of Jerusalem. So although he would not live to see it, he was given assurance that his prayers would be answered. There are many things that we pray for, especially the older we get, that we will not live to see. But it is good to get divine assurance that the Lord will remember our prayers. In this connection, it is also important to remind ourselves that there are millions of prayers yet to be answered that were offered up on earth by many who are now in God’s presence, some for a long time.

Third, Daniel was commanded to pay attention to the answer; Gabriel told him to ‘consider the word and understand the vision’. We need to hear this command as well because it is a passage that tells us many important details about God’s plan. Another reason why we should understand this passage is because it is the basis for the dominant view of Bible prophecy that exists in the evangelical church today, but it is not the interpretation that we believe. The dominant view is held by dispensationalists, men and women who are our fellow believers in the gospel, but it defines what they believe about the work of Christ, the role of the church, the place of Israel, and the progress of the gospel. Those who hold this view are so large in America today that their opinions are taken into account by those running for public office. Surprisingly the teaching began in Britain and Ireland through the teachings of J. N. Darby and others in the early nineteenth century, was adopted by the fundamentalist movement that arose in response to the higher criticism of that century, and is now everywhere in the evangelical church, held by Presbyterians, Baptists, Charismatics, and Independents. So why are we in the Free Church different? The answer is in how we interpret verses 24-27 of Daniel 9.

The Seventy Weeks

The first item to note is the reference to seventy weeks (v. 24). What kind of week is intended here? Gabriel does not have in mind weeks made up of days, but weeks made up of years (as in Genesis 29:27 where Jacob worked for a week of seven years for Rachel). So what is described here will take 490 years to complete.

The second item to note is that the seventy weeks are divided into three periods. Period one will last for seven weeks, that is 49 years; it will begin by the command to rebuild Jerusalem and its closure be marked by the coming of a prince (v. 25). Period two will last for sixty-two weeks, that is 434 years; during that period Jerusalem will be rebuilt even although the whole time will be marked by trouble, and once the period is passed an anointed one will be killed and possess nothing (v. 25). Period three will last for one week, that is seven years, and during that time the city of Jerusalem and its temple will be destroyed by another prince; he will be a ruler of an invading people. There is no necessity for assuming that the weeks will be consecutive; instead, they must be identified by the arrival of three rulers. Ruler one closes the first period, Ruler two closes the second period, and Ruler three is active in the third period.

The third item to note is that within the timeframe of the seventy weeks, several things will happen and they are detailed in verse 24, and they will take place in Jerusalem. They are (1) to finish the transgression, (2) to put an end to sin, and (3) to atone for iniquity, (4) to bring in everlasting righteousness, (5) to seal both vision and prophet, and (6) to anoint a most holy place.

Going back to the first period of seven weeks, we should not that there were several commands issued by the rulers of Persia concerning Jerusalem and three have been advocated as being the one referred to here by Gabriel. Remember that the period will last for 49 years.

Cyrus issued a decree in 538 that allowed the Jews to rebuild the temple (Ezra 1:2-4); this decree would require the city to have been rebuilt by 489 BC, which is too early, because the city was not rebuilt until 408 BC (some Jews did return to the city but they did not build a city that could be described as secure, as indicated by the moat, or well-designed, as indicated by the squares).

Another decree was issued by Artaxerxes I in 444 BC which allowed Nehemiah to rebuild the city (Neh. 2:5-8), and if this was the decree then the city would have been rebuilt in 395 BC (this suggestion was once popular, but it only ‘worked’ by reducing the length of each year to 360 days). But since the city was rebuilt in 408, the decree of Artaxerxes is too late to meet the details of the prophecy.

The command that fits best is the one given to Ezra in 457 BC (Ezra 7:12-26) because forty-nine years afterwards the city was rebuilt through Nehemiah and Ezra in 408. So Ezra or Nehemiah would be the prince mentioned in Daniel 9:25.

Moving on to the second period of sixty-two weeks, it was to last for 434 years and would be followed by the death of an Anointed One. If we add 434 years to 408 BC, we come to AD 26/27. This could be the year in which Jesus was anointed at his baptism by the Spirit, which makes this prophecy to be a remarkable prediction of the coming of the Messiah. The second period of 62 weeks would then close and at a later unidentified date the Anointed One (Jesus) would be killed. We know that his public ministry lasted for about three years and many scholars conclude that his death took place in AD 30.

This leaves the third period of one week which would occur after the death of the Anointed One. It would be marked by the appearance of a prince whose people would destroy the city of Jerusalem. We know from history that they were – the Romans under Titus. According to Gabriel, the destruction of the city would occur during a war and it would include the cessation of sacrifices halfway through the period. Further, the prince would make an agreement with many of the inhabitants. Some suggest that the one who makes the covenant is the future Antichrist making a commitment to the Jews, and others suggest that it is Jesus himself who makes the covenant in the sense of inaugurating the new covenant mentioned by Jeremiah.

I think John Gill explains this statement best: ‘Sixty nine of the seventy weeks being accounted for, and the several events observed to be fulfilled in them; the angel proceeds to take notice of the remaining “one” week, or seven years, and what should be done within that space of time: a covenant should be confirmed with many; which is not to be understood of the Messiah’s confirming the covenant of grace with many, or on account of all his people, by fulfilling the conditions of it, and by his blood and sacrifice, through which all the blessings of it come to them; for this is not for one week only, but for ever; but this is to be interpreted of the Roman people, spoken of in the latter part of the preceding verse; who, in order to accomplish their design to destroy the city and temple of Jerusalem, made peace with many nations, entered into covenant and alliance with them, particularly the Medes, Parthians, and Armenians, for the space of one week, or seven years; as it appears they did at the beginning of this week.’

Further, Jesus clearly says that the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans was predicted by Daniel. In Matthew 24:15-22, the Saviour warns his listeners: ‘So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let the one who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house, and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.’

So what we have here in Daniel 9:24-27 is a summary of what would happen to and in the city of Jerusalem It would be rebuilt finally forty-nine years after the decree of Artaxerxes I by Ezra or Nehemiah; it would survive throughout the next period of 434 years until Jesus was anointed with the Spirit at his baptism (it is also possible that the prophecy is indicating he would be cut off in Jerusalem); and it would be destroyed later by the Roman armies whose leader would remove the temple rituals halfway through the final set of seven years. Whether Daniel grasped all this we cannot say, although the words of Gabriel would suggest that he expected Daniel to understand the prophecy to some extent.

Clearly what happened to the city was important, but the answer also indicates that what would happen in the city was even more significant. If we did not know otherwise, we would regard the cutting off of the Anointed Prince as a disaster. Yet the Bible as a whole indicates that his death was the means of obtaining the six achievements mentioned in verse 24.

The achievements of Jesus

As we look at the six features listed in verse 24, we can see that the first three are connected to aspects of sin. Transgression will be finished, sin will be put to an end, and iniquity will be atoned for. Right away it is clear that a comprehensive treatment of sin will take place because Gabriel uses the three different words for sin that are found in the Bible. Transgressions are wilful sins, sins are actions or words or thoughts that fall short of God’ requirements, and iniquity describes the heinousness, ugliness and offensiveness of sin in God’s estimation. All this is going to be dealt with by Jesus.

What does Gabriel mean? The word translated ‘finished’ means restrained, so the sacrifice of Jesus will result in sin’s influence being curtailed. Obviously it is reduced in each person who trusts in Jesus. It is also reduced through the common grace that accompanies the knowledge of the gospel, even in those who don’t accept it. The sacrifice of Jesus prevents sin doing all that it wants. The term translated ‘come to an end’ suggests an even stronger reduction in the effects of sin. Further the awfulness of sin could only be dealt with by the atoning death of Jesus when he endured God’s wrath against sin. It is the mention of atonement that reveals how Jesus was going to restrain sin and bring it to an end.

Daniel would have listened to this description with awe. After all, he has just confessed the terrible sins of Israel as well as his own shortcomings. What could wash away the sins of righteous Daniel? The answer is, the same atoning sacrifice that would cleanse the biggest, most outrageous sinner who trusts in Jesus. This description reminds us that no-one can say that their sins are too bad for God to deal with.

The second set of three describe three consequences of the sacrifice of Jesus. First, he will bring in everlasting righteousness. I assume this includes both imputed righteousness whereby the law obedience of Jesus is reckoned as ours by God, and he will always reckon it to be so. Yet there is also a reference to endless holy living, a way of life that will mark all his followers forever. When they stand clothed in white in the eternal world, they will trace their standing and their character to what happened at the cross.

Next, Jesus will seal up prophecy and visions. By sealing, Gabriel could mean confirming or concluding. Confirming points to the fact that many of the prophecies of the Messiah were connected to what took place at the cross. So Jesus on the cross confirmed that they were true. Concluding suggests that Jesus is the final Prophet (Heb. 1:1-2).

Finally, Jesus will anoint a most holy place. Daniel had said that these items would happen in Jerusalem (the holy city) and on his people. Jesus fulfilled this detail on the Day of Pentecost when he anointed his church with the Holy Spirit. The church is a holy place because God dwells in it.

Some applications

I would mention three brief applications. First, we should resolve to imitate Daniel and become one whom God regards as greatly beloved. This relationship thrives when we draw near to the Lord through his Word and by prayer in order to know his will for his servants.

Second, as we have seen before in Daniel, Old Testament prophecy is accurate. In this chapter we are told details of three future stages in the city of Jerusalem and all of them were fulfilled. Some of the prophecies describe the work of Jesus and others of the prophecies are connected to the building, development and destruction of the city of Jerusalem.

Third, we should admire what the Lord Jesus accomplished in Jerusalem. Here we have seen six amazing activities, each connected to the salvation of his people. Daniel, and us, are being told to focus on Jesus and not on what would happen to the most privileged of cities. It would help us if we would memorise these six details and meditate on them. Through them we experience the mercy of God which Daniel prayed for.