This writing was originally written for presentation to a live audience. I felt it would be something to publish online in these days, at this time in the plans of God. If there appear any disconnects between a note (to myself, for the original audio presentation) and the continuity of writing typically expected in an essay, my apologies. Blessed are the flexible.
The WHEN WHAT and even the WHY of the first half of chapter 9 – which ought to be obvious, has managed to become controversial. It should be no surprise. Satan hates truth and accuracy and works overtime. There has been and continues to be spiritual-agendas to try to point readers and believers away from the truth, not only the truth of Daniel 9, but also to the entire ‘TRUTH STORY’ of the word of God. There is a Truth and that Truth is a Man – Messiah/Yeshua/Jesus (John 14:6), and there is a Liar and the father or all lies (John 8:44). And that is the Deceiver – who will come into any situation where people will allow him entry. Ask Adam and Eve.
This is NOT an exhaustive study of the book of Daniel. It’s about Chapter 9, and I think you’ll recognize its significance and timeliness in these shaking, Haggai-2 and Hebrews 12:27-28 days.
I am NOT going into the ‘prophetic swamps’ of historic debate or future speculations. This is my prayerful opinion based on my study and understanding of scripture, and 50+ years of walking with the Lord, and in His word daily. There’s a bunch of scripture references along the way in this teaching. Scripture-fact-check me always, please. I am responsible to get things as accurate as possible, also knowing this truth – that says there may well be mysteries yet to be revealed, even in our days. Daniel was told this:
Daniel 12:9 (NKJV)
9 And he said, “Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.
MY GOAL is to present an overview for us – so that we might gain a ‘WHAT’S HAPPENING NOW’ foundation for the days in which we are both LIVING and further HEADING INTO.
HISTORIC SETTING – the Babylonian Captivity – After countless ignored prophetic disciplines, warnings, threats and also promises of forgiveness if/when there was true repentance – the Babylonian invasion and captivity of Israel occurred generally around 597 BCE. The invasion was God-orchestrated – God employing a neighboring nation.
God utilized and continues to utilize nations, typically neighboring nations to Israel, as disciplinary ‘tools’ against His wayward covenant people (who took down our Trade Center Towers?).
Reference: GOD USING NATIONS TO DISCIPLINE CORRECT AND EVEN JUDGE Israel: 2 Chron 7:14, Ezekiel 7:24
Further Reference: God’s sovereign workings over all nations (Dan 2:20-21): Ezekiel 29:17-20 – God employing Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon for His judgment of wicked Tyre..
The Babylonian invasion was GENERALLY a 70-year Captivity (597 BCE and 538 BCE) – it should be noted that ‘generally’ when it comes to day-to-day prophetic timing, can apply, although there have clearly been times when prophecies have been fulfilled literally TO THE DAY. God is generally SPECIFIC in its prophetic declarations. Babylon was overthrown by the Medes-Persians a year prior to the release of Israel from the Captivity.
As far as God utilizing calendars and times and seasons and specificity and generalities – AGAIN don’t get hung up in the prophetic weeds. A wonderful man of God that I know is convinced God won’t speak prophetically through the Gregorian Calendar. Read Deut 8:16 (my bday – Aug 16) and then 8:2 (my mom’s bday) then 2:7 (my dad’s birthday and then convince me God can’t use anything, including any calendar, to speak to His people.
At the upcoming promised release of Israel, Daniel was concerned about the hearts and minds of the Jews about to return to their land. He could see they were broken in many ways but sadly not converted nor convinced to be serving God in holiness, as directed to them by God’s earlier covenant.
Daniel 9
1 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the lineage of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans—
2 in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years specified by the word of the LORD through Jeremiah the prophet, that He (God) would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.
3 Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.
4 And I prayed to the LORD my God, and made confession, and said, “O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments,
5 we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments.
6 Neither have we heeded Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings and our princes, to our fathers and all the people of the land.
7 O Lord, righteousness belongs to You, but to us shame of face, as it is this day—to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, those near and those far off in all the countries to which You have driven them, because of the unfaithfulness which they have committed against You.
8 “O Lord, to us belongs shame of face, to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, because we have sinned against You.
9 To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against Him.
10 We have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in His laws, which He set before us by His servants the prophets.
11 Yes, all Israel has transgressed Your law, and has departed so as not to obey Your voice; therefore the curse and the oath written in the Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against Him.
12 And He has confirmed His words, which He spoke against us and against our judges who judged us, by bringing upon us a great disaster; for under the whole heaven such has never been done as what has been done to Jerusalem.
13 “As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come upon us; yet we have not made our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might turn from our iniquities and understand Your truth.
14 Therefore the LORD has kept the disaster in mind, and brought it upon us; for the LORD our God is righteous in all the works which He does, though we have not obeyed His voice.
15 And now, O Lord our God, who brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and made Yourself a name, as it is this day—we have sinned, we have done wickedly!
16 “O Lord, according to all Your righteousness, I pray, let Your anger and Your fury be turned away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain; because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people are a reproach to all those around us.
Daniel clearly ‘got it’. For the most part, Israel, nor the world around Israel, ‘got it’. And to this day, in 2025, most all the world, including the New Testament Church, fails to ‘get it’ because the concept of God judging sin, particularly the sin of His covenant people, is sort of ‘offensive’, and fails the narrative of a softy-God who is only about covenant promises, without covenant accountability.
MEANWHILE – Ezekiel, DURING THE CAPTIVITY – gets this word about WHEN the NATIONS, including all the people of God, will understand:
Ezekiel 39:21-29
21 “I will set My glory among the nations; all the nations shall see My judgment which I have executed, and My hand which I have laid on them.
22 So the house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God from that day forward.
23 The Gentiles shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity; because they were unfaithful to Me, therefore I hid My face from them. I gave them into the hand of their enemies, and they all fell by the sword.
24 According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions I have dealt with them, and hidden My face from them.“‘
25 “Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Now I will bring back the captives of Jacob, and have mercy on the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for My holy name—
26 after they have borne their shame, and all their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to Me, when they dwelt safely in their own land and no one made them afraid.
27 When I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them out of their enemies’ lands, and I am hallowed in them in the sight of many nations,
28 then they shall know that I am the LORD their God, who sent them into captivity among the nations, but also brought them back to their land, and left none of them captive any longer.
29 And I will not hide My face from them anymore; for I shall have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,’ says the Lord GOD.”
REMEMBER – at the time of BOTH Daniel’s prophecy as well as Ezekiel’s prophecy, Yeshua/Jesus’ birth, ministry, death for sin and resurrection, AND STILL, RIGHT NOW, His upcoming imminent Return – were all in the future. Of that list, wWe’re just waiting for His imminent return.
17 Now therefore, our God, hear the prayer of Your servant, and his supplications, and for the Lord’s sake cause Your face to shine on Your sanctuary, which is desolate.
18 O my God, incline Your ear and hear; open Your eyes and see our desolations, and the city which is called by Your name; for we do not present our supplications before You because of our righteous deeds, but because of Your great mercies.
19 O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and act! Do not delay for Your own sake, my God, for Your city and Your people are called by Your name.”
DANIEL 9 – PART 2 – THE SEVENTY YEAR PROPHECY – we’ll read without interruption – then we’ll go back and dig into it.
Remember: ‘HHY – Hasn’t Happened Yet’.
Remember Jesus assuring us and warning us:
Matthew 5:17-19
17 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.
18 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.
19 Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
And Remember: 1 Peter 1:10-12 – the Jewish Prophets – Daniel, Ezekiel, Isaiah, Jeremiah/all – were told by the Spirit of God that they were writing for a future generation of people – people of the era when Messiah had appeared His first time, on earth, to make a way for ‘whosoever will’, Jew or Gentile, to come into intimacy with the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
THE SECOND HALF OF DANIEL 9
Daniel 9
[The Seventy-Weeks Prophecy] Do not miss the divine angelic of Daniel’s most-accurate prayer and plea…
20 Now while I was speaking, praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God,
21 yes, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, reached me about the time of the evening offering.
22 And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, “O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill to understand.
23 At the beginning of your supplications the command went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are greatly beloved; therefore consider the matter, and understand the vision:
24 “Seventy weeks are determined
For your people and for your holy city,
To finish (‘kala’ – end, finish, withhold, stop) the transgression,
To make an end (‘tamam’ – cease, complete, consume) of sins,
To make reconciliation for iniquity,
To bring in everlasting righteousness, (HHY:hasn’t happened yet so stay tuned – per Matt 5:17 – ‘all will be fulfilled’)
To seal up vision and prophecy, (won’t require prophecy anymore – 1 Cor 13:10 – after the 70th week)
And to anoint (rub with oil) the Most Holy. qôḏeš; from 6942; a sacred place or thing; rarely abstract, sanctity: — consecrated (thing), dedicated (thing), hallowed (thing)
HERE’S THE PROPHETIC SWAMP OF NUMBERING WEEKS – although Gabriel tells Daniel that he, Daniel, is given supernatural understanding – and we are invited into Holy Spirit study, prayer, observance of history, our deep pressing in to scripture so that we might discern and confirm that any hypothesis or speculation DOES or DOES NOT align with the entirety of ALL other scripture.
AND ALSO JESUS ASSURES US OF THIS REVELATION, AND ITS TIMING:
Matthew 24:15-31 (NKJV)
15 “Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand), HHY – not quite yet
16 “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
17 Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house.
18 And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes.
19 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!
20 And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath.
21 For then there (AT THAT TIME, HHY) will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22 And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.
23 “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. (my week with a Hindu online and a Muslim repairman in our home)
24 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.
25 See, I have told you beforehand. Recommended: don’t ignore this statement.
26 “Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it.
27 For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
28 For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together. (the modern day equivalent: ‘where there’s smoke, there’s fire’)
29 “Immediately (Eutheos – forthwith, immediately – explicitly: no delay – this clearly places the second-coming of Messiah immediately after the days of most trouble) after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
BACK TO DANIEL 9:
25 “Know therefore and understand,
That from the going forth of the command
To restore and build Jerusalem
Until Messiah the Prince,
There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks;
I have seen over the years ‘purposely prophetic ambiguity’ where a prophecy might at first blush appear to have arguable purpose that opens door for debate and speculation, along with inviting study, prayer and sometimes even awaited fulfillment. One example is Hezekiah’s birth and the prophecy of Jesus’ birth by a Virgin Mary. The prophecy is in Isaiah 7 and utilizes the word ‘alma’ as opposed to ‘betula’ – ALMA more commonly including a maiden or any young woman while BETULA points more to a virgin, without relations with a man. I believe part of the Isa 7 prophetic word usage is intended BY GOD to speak to the at-that-time soon-upcoming birth of Hezekiah, Isa 7:16 clearly does not pertain to Jesus. These kinds prophetic ambiguities also invites us into prayerful study and deep full-bible interpretation
BACK TO Dan 9:25
There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks;
The street shall be built again, and the wall,
Even in troublesome times.
There are varying interpretations of the two distinct periods, several with approximations and some with at least one of the dates specifically accurate. Many of the determining calculation-specifications are dependent upon which of several rebuild decrees one might calculate from.
Online searching offers us this:
There were four key Persian royal decrees recorded in the Bible related to rebuilding Jerusalem and its Temple, issued by Kings Cyrus, Darius I, and Artaxerxes I, with the final one in 444 BC often cited as the start of Daniel’s 70 Weeks prophecy, though some interpretations focus on three specific decrees, highlighting Artaxerxes I’s 457 BC decree as most significant for the city’s full restoration.
The “Seven Weeks” (49 years):
This period (7 x 7 years) covers the difficult rebuilding of Jerusalem’s walls and streets, ending around 395 B.C..
This timing aligns with the ministries of Ezra and Nehemiah and the end of Old Testament prophecy.
‘The “Sixty-Two Weeks’ (434 years):
Following the first seven weeks, another 62 weeks (434 years) lead to the coming of the Messiah.
Combined (7 + 62 = 69 weeks or 483 years), this points to Jesus’ anointing/baptism around 27 A.D. (using a year-day principle).
It is notable for us, in these days, that the Jews during the time of Jesus’ birth were alert and aware of the general time of Messiah coming into the world, but still required an angelic visitation to reveal the exact time, day and place by fresh revelation. That speaks to me of the upcoming second appearance of our Lord and Savior, as well. Stay in prayer. Stay in the word. Be sensitive to the Holy Spirit.
Daniel 9
26 “And after the sixty-two weeks (at the end of the 62 weeks that are AFTER the 7 weeks = 69 weeks)
Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; (for the sins of the world, i.e. – everyone who will accept that sacrifice)
And the people of the prince who is to come
Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.
The end of it shall be with a flood,
And till the end of the war desolations are determined.
QUES: which people and which prince? This is a prophetic pointer to the identification of the PRINCE (man in authority who will later confirm a covenant with Israel and with most of the blinded world). THE PEOPLE OF THAT PRINCE who is to come LATER in this prophecy.
Rome, via Titus’ army, destroyed Jerusalem in 70AD – but (NOT TO BE OVERLOOKED) per historians Tacitus and Josephus. Rome utilized auxiliary mercenaries composed of Syrians and other neighboring haters-of-Israel to destroy the City as well – so ‘THE PRINCE WHO IS TO COMEcan easily be Middle Eastern, and not Roman. Understand this: This is a Middle Eastern prophetic drama.
Meanwhile Daniel 7 and 8 clearly point us to an evil leader rising up out of Middle Eastern roots, identified as ‘Gog’ in Ezekiel 38 re the final battles in Israel. (BACKSTORY: Numbers 24:7 – the Masoretic text mentions a Savior will be ‘greater than Agag’, but the Septuagint text (300 years prior to Jesus, when Jewish theologians had no agenda to steer their people away from the timings of Daniel pointing to the first appearance of Messiah) mentions ‘greater than Gog’ instead of ‘greater than Agag’ – Agag being a bit player in the the whole biblical drama).
Who is Middle Eastern? Syrians? Arabs? Even Jews? Question: could a Jewish man qualify by lineage to becoming the anti-christ? Apparently. The Masoretic text was written 300 years AFTER the theologically UPSETTING birth and death of the Savior for Israel, and 300 years down the road, the Jewish-scholarly intent was clouded by a spiritual veil (Paul in Corinthians mentions the veil) and also clouded by a rabbinical agenda to discount ANY Tanakh scriptures pointing to the timing of Jesus as being a fulfillment of Messianic significance.
Here is an interesting scripture linking the Jewish lineage to the Syrian lineage:
Deuteronomy 26:5 (NKJV)
5 And you shall answer and say before the LORD your God: ‘My father was a Syrian, about to perish, and he went down to Egypt and dwelt there, few in number; and there he became a nation, great, mighty, and populous.
Meanwhile we know that Anna and Simeon (Luke 2) and even Herod (Matt 2), during the times of Jesus’ birth, along with many others – were aware of and honored the general though perhaps not specific Daniel 9 timeframes for the Savior’s appearance – although probably never dreaming the Savior would be crucified and then resurrected to return at a still later date (remember the Emmaus road conversation and the disciples’ disappointment over the crucfixion), a return-date we are waiting for and wondering about.
BACK TO DANIEL 9
27 Then he (the final anti-christ, Gog – Ezek 38) shall confirm a covenant with many for one week;
But in the middle of the week
He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. (And why will Anti-Christ not be satisfied until he has the world worshipping him? What did Satan say to Jesus? The Deceiver offered Jesus what was not his to offer – he said he’d give Jesus all the nations if Jesus would worship him, Satan. It is about worship. It is about who and what WE as believers worship.
John 4:23-26
23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
25 The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When He comes, He will tell us all things.”
26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”
Finishing Daniel 9:27
And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate,
Even until the consummation, which is determined,
Is poured out on the desolate.”
Much is happening in our days, in the Middle East as well as around the world. God in His faithfulness to His Jewish people, and to the Land of Israel, miraculously restored the Jews into the Land in 1948.
Meanwhile the Messiah for Israel is Yeshua/Jesus and for the most part God’s beloved Jewish people have been told by religious leadership that Jesus is NOT the still-awaited Messiah. And the suffering of the Jewish people and the disappointment of the Jewish people, and the troubles experienced by the Jewish people, has kept the troubling ongoing. But God’s love and faithfulness TO COVENANT in general and to His Jewish people in particular, which is many ways BY ADOPTION applies to the New Testament Church, AND THE NEW COVENANT Jesus inaugurated at the Passover Seder – introduced the greatest covenant of all – and that message of rescue and deliverance and salvation is now extended to a shaking world that the prophets told us would be shaking more and more violently prior to the return-appearance of the Messiah.
And we, both Jew and Gentile, are called into relationship WITH and service TO the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Who will be sending His Son, again, to sort all this out. THAT is what is happening now.
23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth;
ALL SCRIPTURE NKJV
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