Daniel’s Prayer & The 70 Weeks

The interpretation of this vision is in chapters 10 through 12. So today I will look only at chapter 9 and in the next post I will do 10-12 all together.

“It was the first year of the reign of Darius the Mede, the son of Ahasuerus, who became king of the Babylonians. During the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, learned from reading the word of the Lord, as revealed to Jeremiah the prophet, that Jerusalem must lie desolate for seventy years.”
‭‭Daniel‬ ‭9‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Daniel had a copy of the prophecies of Jeremiah. And this is what he read:

“This entire land will become a desolate wasteland. Israel and her neighboring lands will serve the king of Babylon for seventy years. “Then, after the seventy years of captivity are over, I will punish the king of Babylon and his people for their sins,” says the Lord. “I will make the country of the Babylonians a wasteland forever.”
‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭25‬:‭11‬-‭12‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“This is what the Lord says: “You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again.”
‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭29‬:‭10‬ ‭NLT‬‬

So Daniel gets out his abacus and starts doing the math. 🧮 🗓️

If you go by the year of the fall of Jerusalem, then they still have about 22 years of waiting left. BUT… if you calculate from the beginning of the people “being in Babylon” and “serving the king of Babylon,” then you are counting from 605 BC. The first year of Darius the Mede was somewhere right around 539-538 BC. That means the captivity will be over in about only 4 more years!

Have the people of Abraham learned that Yahweh alone is worthy of worship? Will they be loyal from now on? How on earth can Daniel get word to the thousands of Jewish people scattered from eastern Persia to Egypt and who knows where else? How will they know to pack up and return? How could they afford to make a move like that? What condition is Jerusalem in? What about the land? Have others settled there over the past several decades? Will there be a place for the exiles?

There would’ve been a LOT of questions running through Daniel’s mind. And he’s probably pushing 80 years old. I doubt he wants to take on a project like organizing the return of Israel. He’s probably just hoping he will live long enough to see it happen.

But one thing he CAN do is pray. 🙏

In verses 4-19 Daniel confesses and repents on behalf of his people. He prays as if he were personally responsible for the wickedness of his ancestors. He owns the guilt of his people.

And that may be something missing from many prayers today. Postmodern culture would have us pray more like…

“Dear Lord, I am a wonderful person. I am blessed and highly favored. My people have done some bad things but that’s only because they had an unhappy childhood. It’s not our fault. I am a good person. And we know that You love us just as we are and made us the way we are so it’s all good. We ask for Your blessings because we are worth it. Please send good vibes to everyone everywhere. Amen.”

Did you notice in Daniel’s prayer how he used words that involve the WILL?

• We have “rebelled”
• “scorned your commands”
• “refused to listen”
• “Our disloyalty to you”
• “We have not obeyed”
• “We have no followed”
• “Disobeyed” “turned away”
• “Refused to seek mercy”

When Daniel asks for God’s help he acknowledges that they do not deserve it and he appeals to God’s own interests as grounds for hearing and answering his prayer.

• “for Your own sake”
• “Your city, the city that bears Your name”
• “Because of Your mercy”

And this isn’t a short prayer. Verses 21-22 may suggest that he prayed and confessed for hours.

Makes me think of this verse (one of my favorites):

“And he gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.””
‭‭James‬ ‭4‬:‭6‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Daniel is one of the Bible’s best role-models for prayer. When he prayed, things happened. And Gabriel shows up to tell him about it.

“The moment you began praying, a command was given. And now I am here to tell you what it was, for you are very precious to God. Listen carefully so that you can understand the meaning of your vision.”
‭‭Daniel‬ ‭9‬:‭23‬ ‭NLT‬‬

It would seem to suggest that Daniel’s prayers triggered a word- a command issued from the throne of God.

Let’s stop here for a second and think about that. 🪑

If God issues a command, look out, because it’s GOING to happen. Daniel wasn’t attempting in any way to manipulate God or irritate God into doing what Daniel wanted.

He was requesting the things that God already wanted. He was in tune with heart of Yahweh based on scripture.

Under what conditions would our prayers result in a command given from the LORD? I think Daniel gives a clear example.

The word that was given from the LORD is just 4 verses, 24-27, but it maps out, TO THE DAY when the Messiah will come.

This is another reason why modern critical scholars dislike Daniel. It proves beyond any doubt that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah.

This diagram is from Koinonia House and if you have a few extra minutes, I highly recommend reading Chuck Missler’s short article on the 70 weeks of Daniel.

As we consider this prophecy, we need to pay strict attention to what Gabriel said it concerned.

“Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the wrongdoing, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for guilt, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy Place.”
‭‭Daniel‬ ‭9‬:‭24‬ ‭NASB2020‬‬

It concerns 1 people, 1 place and 6 outcomes.

• Your people – the Jews
• Your holy city – Jerusalem
• Finish the wrongdoing
• Make an end of sin
• Atone for guilt
• Bring in Everlasting Righteousness
• Seal up vision and prophecy
• Anoint the Most Holy Place

Those are some very lofty plans. Heaven will achieve all of these objectives in this 70 sets of 7; or 70 weeks (of years).

Gabriel divides the time into:

• 7 weeks (v.25) – the time it took to finish rebuilding all of Jerusalem, which included the rebuilding of the temple.
• 62 weeks (v.25-26) – the remaining time from the command to rebuild Jerusalem to the coming of the King (the Triumphal Entry), and the Messiah being “cut off” (killed).
• 1 week (v.27) – prophecy buffs call it “Daniel’s 70th week” and it’s where the idea of a 7-year tribulation period comes from.
  • v27 refers to a covenant made “with many” for 1 week which equals 7 years in the math of this prophecy.
  • In “the middle of the week” sacrifices are stopped and there is an abomination that makes desolate. Jesus referenced this in Matt. 24:15 and Mark 13:14. This verse is why many see the necessity of a 3rd temple being built.
  • Rev. 11:1-3 and 13:5-6 speak of a period of 42 months which is half of 7 years. The abomination in “the middle of the week” mentioned above seems to be the catalyst that kicks off the 3 things that Revelation says happen for 42 months:
    • Jerusalem is “trampled” by the Gentiles
    • The “Two Witnesses” prophecy
    • The “Beast” is in power

This is a fairly typical Evangelical interpretation of these texts. But you should know it isn’t the only interpretation out there. A pretty solid case can be made that the 70th week, and the abomination in the middle of it that Jesus warned about, took place around 70AD when the 2nd temple was once again desecrated and destroyed. And for that reason, you may run into folks who genuinely do not believe that we need to watch for much of anything in the book of Revelation to happen. Because if that view is correct, then much (most?) of Revelation has already happened.

And we need to remember that people with different views on end-times prophecy (Eschatology), if they are trusting Christ for salvation and walking in the Gospel, they are our brethren. They are not enemies to be mocked or ignoramuses to be “educated” into our point of view. We are commanded to love the brethren whether we agree on Bible prophecy or not.

If eschatology was all as clear as some people seem to think, there wouldn’t be any differing perspectives.

But it is opaque. On purpose. God is a wise General. He’s not going to publish every detail of His battle plan for the Enemy to read.

The purpose of prophecy is to verify an event when it happens and glorify God for being the One Who “declares the end from the beginning.” It’s not a crystal ball 🔮 so we can forecast the future.

When we get into the unpacking of this vision in chapters 10-12, we’ll find that much of it has to do with intertestamental history. And it’s so accurate that critical scholars are uncomfortable with its implications. Because it shows that God is very much in control of the rise and fall of the kingdoms of this world.