Daniel chapter 9, the seventy weeks of years.

In everything I do, I feel I am learning a new lesson. Because one of the groups of men I sit with, subjects ourselves to a false teacher each week (not everyone that sits through the Monday morning Bible Study feels this way,) several of us recognize the painful tedium we subject ourselves to. We all find ourselves asking why we attend and the answer is universally the same for all who see what is going on there. We need fellowship with other faithful men. From my point of view, there are four or five men who have a solid understanding of God's Word, His nature, and His character (These aspects have become utmost in my thinking lately.)

One of the brothers avidly follows another of our false teachers as he carries his twisted gospel to the hamburger stand I used to frequent. I have challenged his reasons and he always leans upon the same thing, that brother is a good friend of mine and we have been through much together.

I get it. There is no denying the value of someone, no matter the twistedness of their theology, who will always have your back in prayer. That aspect is one thing these men have in common, they know how to pray.

While it may seem that the lesson I need to learn is how to separate myself from false teachers, it is really more focused on trusting the Holy Spirit's leading and not asking the opinions of the others. In doing just that I bypassed some essential, reinforcing, and critical aspects of end times prophecy by choosing to jump from Daniel chapter 2 to Daniel chapter 9. In my defense, I only thought I would have a couple of weeks at best, and, I really thought for a moment I could fly through the depth of what is contained in Daniel 2 and 9. I could not, nor does it do the information there any justice.

One more thing. I have come to realize that there is nothing of insignificance in scripture and to fly rapidly past a simple word like strongholds, is to do yourself and your audience an injustice.

All passages are from the NASB unless otherwise specified.

Daniel Chapter 9 – Daniel's third vision:

The seventy weeks of years.

Daniel 9:1

In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of Median descent, who was made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans--

[ Timeline from Nebuchadnezzar to Darius

Make this clear in your thinking: Daniel, having not only survived but excelled under five Kings/rulers/Emporers, is now facing his sixth ruling authority while still in Babylonian captivity.

If we followed this timeline closely what do we see? Daniel dead before Darius shows up. Is that what scripture tells us? No. But we can also see something else, two other names not spelled out in Daniel. Amel-Marduk who reigned from 556- 539BC; that Belshazzar had an alternative name of Nabonidus; that Cambyses reigned briefly after Cyrus from 530 – 522BC, ending with, for the purposes of our story, Darius 1 who reigned from 522 – 486BC.

Daniel 9:2

"in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, observed in the books the number of the years which was revealed as the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet for the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years"

What can we ascertain from this?

• • That Daniel was, either, able to carry the scroll of Jeremiah into captivity with him,
  • Or, Daniel was able to attain a copy.
  • Daniel has perceived according to prophecy that the desolations of Jerusalem are over.
    What does the Hebrew give us as the definition of desolations?
    
    

    The Word Study Dictionary, ḥorbāh or cḥorbāh: A feminine noun meaning ruin. The word almost always refers to an area ruined by the judgment of God.

    
    Strong's tells us: properly drought, that is, (by implication) a desolation: - decayed place, desolate (place, -tion), destruction, (laid) waste (place).

While desolations may have been declared upon Jerusalem, this judgment was upon God's people as well. Daniel, reading from the Prophet Jeremiah, realized that the time of their captivity had, because of timing, come to an end. Someone needed to let the authorities know.

Jeremiah 25:11-13 'This whole land will be a desolation and a horror, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years. 12- 'Then it will be when seventy years are completed I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation,' declares the LORD, 'for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans; and I will make it an everlasting desolation. 13- 'I will bring upon that land all My words which I have pronounced against it, all that is written in this book which Jeremiah has prophesied against all the nations.

Jeremiah 29:10 "For thus says the LORD, 'When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place.

What can I ascertain from verse two, or another way of asking this question would be to say, “what has Daniel come to understand?”

• • • That Daniel was not completely aware of the timing.
    • That the 70 years of captivity have been completed.
    • That the whole land of Israel is in desolation.
    • While Israel's desolation may be temporary, Babylon, that nation, and the land of the Chaldeans will have an everlasting desolation.

Daniel 9:3-19

The NASB entitles this section: Daniel's Prayer for His People; and yet that is not all Daniel prays for.

Daniel opens his time of prayer with a preparation.

3) “So I gave my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.”

Are we required by the law to take an appropriate attitude before God? Why then “pay attention?” Because we are not in control, He is.

I once heard someone say, always open your prayer with praise.

4) “I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed and said, "Alas, O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments,”

Daniel acknowledges God for who He is. He is great, awesome, and most important of all: He is the one ho keeps His covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments

Verse 5 shows Daniel confessing for the nation.

“we have sinned, committed iniquity, acted wickedly and rebelled, even turning aside from Your commandments and ordinances.”

In verse 6 he admits:

“we have not listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, our princes, our fathers and all the people of the land.”

Since apostasy, the act of turning our backs on God is a significant marker of the end times, what does this idea of “we have not listened” have to say to us?

As a side note: I sit with religious men who make bold statements contrary to the Word of God and will not listen when corrected by that same Word.

Verses 7,8 demonstrate that it is more than just the land, the temple and the city that is punished; it is people as well.

7) ".. the men of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, those who are nearby and those who are far away in all the countries to which You have driven them, ..”8) "Open shame belongs to us, O Lord, to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, because we have sinned against You."

This judgment is directly applicable to Jewish people of that day, everywhere. But who wants to carry around open shame?

Here we sit some two thousand five hundred years later and yet once again there is a wrath/judgment coming upon God's people. Why? Because, still, they will not listen.

Daniel 9:9-10

"To the Lord, our God belongs compassion and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against Him; 10) nor have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in His teachings which He set before us through His servants the prophets."

Isaiah 43:25-26 "I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, And I will not remember your sins. 26) "Put Me in remembrance, let us argue our case together; State your cause, that you may be proved right."

In remembrance of what? Who God is and what He has done.

Why? Not because he forgets, but because we do.

Consider what this says: “To the Lord, our God belong compassion and forgiveness,” while He may show compassion and forgiveness, there is a debt to pay. In our case, Jesus paid the price for our debts. Did this exclude Israel? Not at all, but it is clear, even today, that ma many choose to reject Jesus as the Messiah.

Daniel 9:11-14

What does Daniel say here, in his prayer to God?

•  "Indeed all Israel has transgressed Your law and turned aside, not obeying Your voice;
•  so the curse has been poured out on us,
•  along with the oath which is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, 

Spend some time in the book of Deuteronomy and there you will find the Blessings and the Curses. Chapter 28 is where it says, "if you will do these things then all these blessings will come upon you." But, like any two-edged sword, there are curses for not following God's commands.

In finding the character of God, you will find that He is rather straightforward; this is affirmed in chapter 30.

Deuteronomy 30:19 "I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants,

In general, is that what Israel did, choose life? No, therefore Daniel had this to say, “As it is written in the law of Moses, all this calamity has come on us;”

Did knowledge of Deuteronomy's blessings and curses change the heart of Israel?

I doubt it, but we know that there were four men who stood on God's side.

•  Sadly we have this evidence: “yet we have not sought the favor of the LORD our God by turning from our iniquity and giving attention to Your truth.”

Does, or has, God, relented from his wrath and anger?

The answer is yes, and Nineveh is one of those examples. Jeremiah 42:10, an example of God relenting from His wrath, was spoken concerning Israel and their pending captivity.

Jeremiah 42:10 'If you will indeed stay in this land, then I will build you up and not tear you down, and I will plant you and not uproot you; for I will relent concerning the calamity that I have inflicted on you."

What land is God referring to? Babylon.

At the same time, we have examples where God is done overlooking transgressions.

Ezekiel 24:14 "I, the LORD, have spoken; it is coming and I will act. I will not relent, and I will not pity and I will not be sorry; according to your ways and according to your deeds I will judge you," declares the Lord GOD.'"

Daniel 9:15

"And now, O Lord our God, who have brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand and have made a name for Yourself, as it is this day--we have sinned, we have been wicked.”

This is not so dissimilar from one of Moses' prayers.

Daniel 9:16

If I were to foolishly ask, when does Daniel begin to pray, It would be about verse 15. However, the entire interaction is a prayer.

• • “ Lord, in accordance with all Your righteous acts”
  • “let now Your anger and Your wrath turn away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain.”
• 
  
  What kind of knowledge is Daniel sitting on?
  
  

  The knowledge that the 70 years is completed, and that God has little reason to keep Israel in captivity.

  
  

  With that understanding, Daniel still remains submissive to the God of Israel.

• 
  
• “for because of our sins and the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem, and Your people have become a reproach to all those around us.”
  
  

  Daniel gets it; the reasons why Israel is captive in Babylon. Did he get it as a young man, probably about to get married? Maybe not, but he literally kept his head by being submissive to his Babylonian captors, as the prophet Jeremiah had told them.

Daniel 9:17-19

What direction did this portion of his prayer take?

• • • “So now, our God, listen to the prayer of Your servant “
    • “incline Your ear and hear! Open Your eyes and see our desolations and the city which is called by Your name”
      
      

      Again, Moses implored the Lord to have mercy upon His people, called by your name, and asked, what will the nations think, that God could not save them.

    • “O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive!”
      
      

      Forgiving is a part of God's nature and character.

    • “do not delay, because Your city and Your people are called by Your name."
      
      

      Perhaps this is a human emotion that we are attaching to God, but everyone has pride.

For the moment we will end this, keeping this study in brief sections.  The next section/chapter will be:

Gabriel Brings an Answer, but to what? 

New Years day and this is what you preach, the institution of the Lord's supper? Mark 14:22 – 42

Yeah, I know, burning your bridges gives you limited access back across the river, and that, unfortunately, is where some of the humans are, but I have done just that on several occasions. One of the problems this act creates is that I lose access to new material. What do I mean? It is in conversations and or, in listening to a sermon, that the Holy Spirit gives me new stuff to about which to write. This last Sunday morning was one of those.

The sermon title, as listed on the clean note sheet we were handed was "Happy New Year." That makes sense because it was January 01, 2017. However, the scripture passage that I assumed would be the main topic source was Mark 14:22 – 42. This is where Jesus tells the guys, “I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of

The hands of Jesus holding wine cup, symbol of communion

God,” and, where Peter, as Eugene Peterson's Message states, "Even if everyone else is ashamed of you when things fall to pieces, I won't be." I find neither of these scenarios to be motivators for some immediate happiness.

I cannot stand people who through rose colored glasses, try to get you to ignore the pain enveloping you and look to the future goal as your constant source of feelings. If there was a person qualified to do that it would have been Jesus. Seeing as Jesus, the creator of eternity, the one who knows the end from the beginning, was standing there in front of them, and He did not say anything like that then maybe just trying to divert people from their momentary reality is not the answer. He tried to cheer them up knowing full well the anguish He was feeling in his soul, and we see the evidence of that anguish a few minutes later when He takes the three with him into the mount of olives.

Jesus, being greatly distressed said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved to the point of death; remain here and keep watch.” And He went a little beyond them and fell to the ground.

New Year's day, and this is what you preach?

We did take Communion this morning, and that being significant could well have played a role in theme, Happy New Year. However, communion was also one of the things we find Jesus doing with the disciples in Mark's gospel, but none of this engendered happiness in them. Jesus, well aware of the forlorn looks on their faces tried to cheer them up a bit with this:

John 16:6-7 NASB "But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7) "But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.

But this did not and would not bring hope to their hearts, for none of them understood what was happening. They anticipated Jesus taking a commanding role in overturning the rule of the Romans. So the sorrow and grief filled the faces of every one of them as they were faced with the thought of losing the best thing that ever happened to them. In that moment looking to a future hope, you do not understand borders on the impossible. Where is the happiness in this?

I point this out, and yet pastor spent more time focused on Jeremiah 29:10,11 than anything else. As I read the words of Jeremiah, over and over that morning, the pastor was acting out how excited (and presumably happy) he believed Jeremiah might have felt as he heard these words. That prompted me to make some quick notes so I could do a little background investigation on Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 29:10-11 NASB "For thus says the LORD, 'When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place. 11) 'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope."

These words, "When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place," may not have had the exciting impact we presume. Why would I say that? While it is possible that Jeremiah understood the threat that Assyria and the Babylonian empire posed; Israel, it would seem, had yet to be taken into Babylonian captivity. Allow me to demonstrate with this timeline.

Jeremiah's-time-frame

As you can see Jeremiah, born before 630 BC, did not experience the reign of Nebuchadnezzar until somewhere around 605 BC, some twenty-five years later.

What then would Jeremiah have had that would have given him "a world view"?

This catch phrase "world view" came into my hearing several years ago as I began to pay attention to apologetics teachers. Focus on the Family – a radio ministry, has this definition for world view:

A worldview is the framework from which we view reality and make sense of life and the world. "[It's] any ideology, philosophy, theology, movement or religion that provides an overarching approach to understanding God, the world and man's relations to God and the world," says David Noebel, author of Understanding the Times. For example, a 2-year-old believes he's the center of his world, a secular humanist believes that the material world is all that exists, and a Buddhist believes he can be liberated from suffering by self-purification. Someone with a biblical worldview believes his primary reason for existence is to love and serve God.

Lacking nonstop televised news and high-speed international travel we could be surprised to find that Jeremiah believed the world was anything other than flat. Fortunately, news, travel adventures, and history were passed along by mouth (oral history.)

One of the people who lived at the same time as Jeremiah and may have played a huge role in Jeremiah's formation, is Jonah, a man with an intense hatred for the Assyrians, most specifically the Ninevites and their king. Nineveh was the city God had told Jonah to go to with a message of absolute destruction should they not repent. Sadly, as far a Jonah was concerned, they did repent; therefore, God relented - no he did not forget but set aside his judgment temporarily, and they were spared destruction.

Now mind you this is merely a logical speculation but it has potential; and, it is intended to make you think differently about the human side of Godly events.

So again, what did God say to Jeremiah?

Jeremiah 29:10-11 NASB "For thus says the LORD, 'When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place. 11) 'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope."

What of this though?

"When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place."

To put this in perspective we need to consider the captivity that we were in prior to accepting Christ. Some aspects of this life as I understand it, is:

1. There are wealthy people in the world, and even though there is no apparent Christ in their lives they have little comprehension of captivity. Why is that? In spite of the pain, which is great – although they will never openly tell you that; the pleasures they seek are never enough. They can never be satisfied, and that alone brings them a captivity.
2. Many, followers of Christ, neither have nor will they have anything other than the misery they live in (we see so much of this in third world nations and the Middle East.) Our considerations of this are horribly tainted by the various worlds we live in. I will use myself as an example: Having never lived in a third world nation I have no idea yet (I say this because the global agenda to bring all nations down to the same level) what it is like to scrounge through the trash piles hoping to find something to eat. Because of this I only comprehend the discomfort of others by watching it on television while stuffing my face with cheesy chips. Hopefully, you get my point?

If you had been a captive and received this word as Jeremiah did, you may have had reason to rejoice or be happy. And yet there is that phrase "when seventy years have been completed" to put a damper on your rejoicing and happiness, because, at this point, we have no idea how long Jeremiah had been a captive if that was the case. However, there is another way of looking at this prophecy which says, you will be going into captivity, and it is going to last for seventy years. This conclusion probably brings no joy with it. Let me point out (the prophet) Daniel. It is alleged that he was taken captive at a time when he should have been getting married; the prime of life, so to speak. Once a decision was made as to what to do with him, he would have been castrated – a strong demotivator in your decision to attempt to return to the girl of your dreams. By the time Daniel figured out that Israel only had a short period left in captivity, he was already an old man. Keep in mind that Daniel ascertained this information by reading the scroll/prophecy of Jeremiah. 

Are we captives?

If I accept Christ's life in me, and the understanding that my act of faith moves me immediately into His kingdom and family, then I affirm that I have been released from (Satan's) captivity.

What is the scriptural backing for our being released from captivity?

Revelation 5:9 ESV (b) ... for you were slain, and by your (Jesus) blood, you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation,

Acts 20:28 ESV (b) ... the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.

In visualizing this ransom scenario - something I constantly do with scripture, I see an old picture from American history of slaves on an auction block. Jesus, having the one resource that meets all the demands, pays the price and sets all civilization free – past, present, and future. And yet it seems we are still captive, while others come off as though they have no clue about what I am saying. People were never meant to be items for trade, and yet, through the act of choice, Adam made us all slaves. In CS Lewis's book, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, the White “witch”/ ice queen refers to all of the humans as “Sons of Adam.” Why? Because the damage it seems was a genetic predisposition to act selfishly.

This release is entirely independent of feelings and circumstances and is fully wrapped up in God's promises and His ability to carry them out. Plainly stated, placing our lives in Christ has removed us from captivity, no questions asked. Are there those still trapped in the grasp of Satan's captivity; certainly, but only because their actions caused addictions and habits. We will always be responsible for our actions while we are here on this earth. It is only by God's mercy that we occasionally escape due punishment. To recognize God's mercy and grace in my life brings me great joy and happiness.

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"for with them the wrath of God is finished." Revelation 15:1

Seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is finished.

This may not be as exciting as some of my other posts, but I wanted to continue to migrate through Revelation. I am disregarding the admonition I got from Bible Study Fellowship, that “no one really understands the Revelation.” While that may be true, I refuse to accept that statement as truth, for I believe that the Revelation was meant to be understood, even more so today. If I approach the book with the attitude that I can understand it, then I will be ahead of the game based upon attitude alone.

I got some good news, and some bad news. Which do you want to hear first? That always cracks me up when my grandson says it. It does not matter what you say, he is going to tell you what he wanted you to hear. 

• seven angels with seven plagues
• which are the last
• for with them the wrath of God is finished

Revelation 15:1 ESV Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and amazing, seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is finished.

Is this the same as what we see in Revelation 8?

Revelation 8:7 ESV The first angel blew his trumpet, and there followed hail and fire, mixed with blood, and these were thrown upon the earth. And a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.

There are seven angels once again, but no it is not. In Revelation 8:7 the destruction is announced with trumpets; for now we are looking at seven golden vials, and this is seen in Revelation 15:7.

Just to make the statement, “Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and amazing, seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is finished”, could give one the impression that the fury of God was just getting started. It started alright – we saw that back in chapter six – but now it will end; when it will end is not that clear because God does not give us calendar dates to go by.

“Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and amazing, seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is finished.”

Another sign - allos - a different sign, different from the others.

in heaven, - ouranos - the sky

great - megas - exceedingly big

and marvellous (amazing), - thaumastos - wondered at, causing amazement joined with terror. In 1 Peter 2:9, Peter used this word thaumastos when he said, "we were called out of darkness into his marvellous light". We were called into a light that we will look on in wonder.

"another sign in heaven, ..., seven angels with seven plagues,"

Seven angels, with seven plagues, filling the sky with such a display that you stand in awe trying to take it in. The oddity is, what they bring is not good, and yet is an indicator of the end of God's wrath being poured out upon Israel, and the nations.

Consider that phrase for a moment - The end of wrath (how my hearts longs for an end to the violence and we, here in America, do not even know what violence looks like) - and yet, when Jesus returns to earth (physically) he comes with a sword and an army. At that time the blood of those who withstand him, will flow in the streets. Is that not an aspect of his wrath? Perhaps, however I cannot exclude this scenario from the wrath, yet at this point it is directed at those who are specifically fighting against Yahweh.

So many want proof that I am not just making up these concepts, and others have deeply ingrained misunderstandings, refusing to accept truth, even if they are shown from the Word, but here goes any way.

Rev 19:19-21 ESV And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army. (20) And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. (21) And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.

Pay attention to the words - "the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army." So we are seeing Christ and the armies of heaven, coming against armies amassed against him. Verse 21 tells us that the armies are the slain.

We see in Zechariah 14:16 ESV - "Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths."

This particular battle, Armageddon, does not eliminate everyone, and we know this because we see survivors among the nations who are made to come every year and take part in the feast of Tabernacles. They are made to bow. Refusal costs you the rain, and a second refusal ends in a plague that consumes you almost instantly.

There are so many other scriptures that I can give you to show that there are many that are deemed without the Lord, that go into the millennium.

His name is Jesus. He will either return shortly, for those who await him, or you can be caught up in the wrath poured out upon the nations and Israel. I would get to know him now, while we still have his grace being poured out upon the earth. Ask him to make himself real to you. It's like reserving your seat early.

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