December
6th Daniel
9 Daniel’s prayer for his people
1:
In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the
Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans; 2:
In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the
number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah
the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the
desolations of Jerusalem. 3:
And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and
supplication, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: 4:
And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said,
O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to
them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments; 5:
We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly,
and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy
judgments: 6:
Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake
in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all
the people of the land. 7:
O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of
faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of
Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off,
through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of
their trespass that they have trespassed against thee. 8:
O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our
princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee. 9:
To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have
rebelled against him; 10:
Neither have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in his
laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets. 11:
Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that
they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us,
and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God,
because we have sinned against him. 12:
And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and
against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil:
for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon
Jerusalem. 13:
As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us:
yet made we not our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might
turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth. 14:
Therefore hath the LORD watched upon the evil, and brought it upon
us: for the LORD our God is righteous in all his works which he
doeth: for we obeyed not his voice. 15:
And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy people forth out of
the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renown, as
at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly. 16:
O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine
anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy
mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our
fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that
are about us. 17:
Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his
supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is
desolate, for the Lord's sake. 18:
O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold
our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do
not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses,
but for thy great mercies. 19:
O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for
thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by
thy name.
The
Seventy weeks
20:
And whiles I was speaking, and 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:
Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I
had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly,
touched me about the time of the evening oblation. 22:
And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now
come forth to give thee skill and understanding. 23:
At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and
I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore
understand the matter, and consider the vision. 24:
Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city,
to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make
reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting
righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint
the most Holy. 25:
Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the
commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the
Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street
shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. 26:
And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not
for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall
destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with
a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. 27:
And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the
midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to
cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it
desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be
poured upon the desolate.
Daniel
10 Daniel
beside the Tigris
1:
In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a thing was revealed unto
Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar; and the thing was true,
but the time appointed was long: and he understood the thing, and had
understanding of the vision. 2:
In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks. 3:
I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth,
neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were
fulfilled. 4:
And in the four and twentieth day of the first month, as I was by the
side of the great river, which is Hiddekel; 5:
Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man
clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz: 6:
His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of
lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet
like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the
voice of a multitude. 7:
And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw
not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled
to hide themselves. 8:
Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there
remained no strength in me: for my comeliness was turned in me into
corruption, and I retained no strength. 9:
Yet heard I the voice of his words: and when I heard the voice of his
words, then was I in a deep sleep on my face, and my face toward the
ground. 10:
And, behold, an hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon
the palms of my hands. 11:
And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the
words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I
now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood
trembling. 12:
Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that
thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself
before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words.
13:
But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty
days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me;
and I remained there with the kings of Persia. 14:
Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in
the latter days: for yet the vision is for many days. 15:
And when he had spoken such words unto me, I set my face toward the
ground, and I became dumb. 16:
And, behold, one like the similitude of the sons of men touched my
lips: then I opened my mouth, and spake, and said unto him that stood
before me, O my lord, by the vision my sorrows are turned upon me,
and I have retained no strength. 17:
For how can the servant of this my lord talk with this my lord? for
as for me, straightway there remained no strength in me, neither is
there breath left in me. 18:
Then there came again and touched me one like the appearance of a
man, and he strengthened me, 19:
And said, O man greatly beloved, fear not: peace be unto thee, be
strong, yea, be strong. And when he had spoken unto me, I was
strengthened, and said, Let my lord speak; for thou hast strengthened
me. 20:
Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee? and now will I
return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am gone forth,
lo, the prince of Grecia shall come. 21:
But I will shew thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth:
and there is none that holdeth with me in these things, but Michael
your prince.
In
the first year of the reign of Darius over Babylon Daniel came to a
conclusion by referring the prophesy of Jeremiah regarding the number
of the years of the Judean captivity. This led to a deliberate effort
by Daniel to seek the Lord regarding this issue. He fasted and wore
sackcloth and made his confession for himself and on behalf of the
nation. He rehearses in detail the whole sorry story of Judah’s
backslidings. Then he pleads with God to turn away his anger against
his people. While he is praying the angel Gabriel is sent to speak to
him. The angel explained that as soon as he began to pray he was sent
to answer his prayer. He said that he has been given the duty to make
Daniel understand the details of his question. And he tells him that
he is greatly loved. What a great blessing that must have been to
Daniel. Then the angel said, Seventy weeks (Multiplies of sevens, in
this case years. 70x7 years) are determined on the people and on the
holy city and to finish transgression and to make an end of sins and
to make reconciliation for Iniquity and to bring in everlasting
righteousness and to seal up the vision (bring it to completion) and
to anoint the Most Holy (Christ) All these things would be
accomplished within 70 weeks (of years, i.e. 490 years) then the
angel gives the start date for the beginning of this period will be
the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem and the coming of
the Messiah the Prince will be 62 + 7 weeks of years (i.e. 69 weeks
or 483 years) The streets and walls of Jerusalem would be rebuilt in
only 7 weeks (49 years) And they will be rebuilt in times of trouble.
But after a further 62 weeks the Messiah will be cut off, but not for
his own sins. Then afterward the people of the prince will come a
destroy the city and the sanctuary and the end will be with a flood
and the end will be a war bringing total desolations. The prince (the
antichrist) will make a covenant with many nations for one week (7
years) But in the middle of the week (after 3 ½ years) he will cause
the true sacrifice and oblation to cease because of his defiling the
temple with his abominations. This will bring the sure judgement of
God.
There
were a number of previous periods of 70 weeks (or 490 years)
The
Birth of Abraham to the Exodus
The
Patriarchs 505
years
Less
15 years when Ishmael delayed the seed of promise (505 – 15 = 490
years)
The
Exodus to the foundation of the Temple
The
Tabernacle
In
the wilderness 40 years
Under
the Judges 450 years
Saul 40
years
David 40
years
Solomon 3
years
Total 573
years
Less
the years when Israel were oppressed and held captive.
Cushan 8
years
Eglon 18
years
Jabin 20
years
Midianites 7
years
Philistines 40
years
Total 93
years
Plus
the years
The
Temple in building 7 years
The
Temple was furnished 3 years
10
years
(573
– 93 + 10 = 490 years)
From
the dedication of the Temple to Nehemiah’s return in the 20th
year of Artaxerxes
The
Temple
Total 560
years
Less
the 70 year captivity 70 years
(560
– 70 = 490 years)
There
were two other periods of 70 weeks
The
Entrance into Canaan
The
Judges
490 years 70 weeks
The
Establishment of the Kingdom under Saul
The
Monarchy
490
years 70 weeks
The Captivity in Babylon
This
is going to culminate in the battle between the seed of the woman and
the seed of the serpent, between Christ and the Antichrist.
After
this Daniel had another contact with an angel in the third years of
Cyrus king of Persia. Daniel had been in spiritual mourning for three
weeks. On this occasion he sees an angel of the Lord again who
explains that from the first moment that he had begun to pray he had
been sent but a Demon (who he calls the king of Persia) had prevented
him. Michael had come to his aid. This had a huge physical effect on
Daniel. The Lord has to give him special strength.
