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Daniel 9:20–27 (God’s response)

INTRODUCTION: We are working our way through the book of Daniel together, and we are currently in a section that records Daniel’s prayer to God during the first year of Darius’ reign over the Babylonians and God’s response to that prayer. Last time we saw how Daniel prayed to God about the seventy years for Babylon as recorded by the prophet Jeremiah. Now God responds to Daniel’s prayer by telling him about the seventy ‘sevens’ that are decreed for Israel. (Read Daniel 9:24 and pray.)

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Today’s passage is a key passage of prophecy, and yet it presents many challenges in interpretation. Most agree that the seventy ‘sevens’ refers to seventy seven-year periods, or a total time of about 490 years. These seven-year periods are also sometimes referred to as ‘weeks,’ that is, seventy ‘weeks’ of years. Daniel had just been reading about the seventy years from Jeremiah. The seventy years are almost over, but now Daniel learns that God’s people still face seventy more ‘sevens of years’ to come.

Interpreters differ over the nature and timing of these 490 years. Is it meant to be an exact period of time? Is it approximate, similar to how many interpret the seventy years of Jeremiah? Or is it meant to be symbolic of a full and complete period of time, similar to when Jesus told Peter to forgive his brother not seven but seventy-seven times, as a symbol of full and complete forgiveness (Matt. 18:22).

This period of 490 years also has parallels to the year of jubilee in Scripture. God told the Israelites, “Count off seven sabbaths of years—seven times seven years—so that the seven sabbaths of years amount to a period of forty-nine years…. Consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you” (Lev. 25:8,19). The year of jubilee and liberation came after seven times seven years. Daniel 9 looks to a period of seventy times seven years, after which God’s people will be liberated.

Jesus himself related his coming to the year of jubilee. When he began his public ministry, he quoted from Isaiah 61, saying, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18–19). The “year of the Lord’s favor” is a direct reference to the year of jubilee.

God sends this message to Daniel to let him know that although the seventy years for Babylon are completed and the exiles will soon go home, Israel still has a long road ahead of them before God comes and makes all things right. So, let’s look at this amazing prophecy together.

I. Visit from Gabriel (20–23)

Our passage begins with a visit from Gabriel in response to Daniel’s prayer.

   A. “While I was praying” (20–21)

Look at verses 20–21 as we get started. Daniel tells us:

While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and making my request to the Lord my God for his holy hill—while I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice. (Dan. 9:20–21)

Daniel had been praying for the exiles to go home after reading from Jeremiah about the seventy years for Babylon, which have now come to an end. Daniel sums up this request as praying to the Lord “for his holy hill.” This is a clear reference to Jerusalem as Daniel prays for the restoration of God’s people to the holy city.

While Daniel is still praying, Gabriel comes to him about the time of the evening sacrifice. Of course, there had been no evening sacrifices for nearly fifty years, ever since the temple was destroyed back in 586 B.C. Daniel had been in Babylon for nearly seventy years now, and yet he still observed prayer at this time.

   B. “As soon as you began to pray” (22–23)

Even though Daniel had been praying for some time, the answer had been given much sooner. Look at verses 22–23:

He instructed me and said to me, “Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding. As soon as you began to pray, an answer was given, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed. Therefore, consider the message and understand the vision.” (Dan. 9:22–23)

Gabriel states that the purpose of his visit is to give Daniel insight and understanding. He tells him, “As soon as you started to pray, the answer was already given.” Gabriel has come to bring that answer to him through a vision of the coming years.

Notice God’s love for Daniel expressed here. Daniel is “highly esteemed,” which means he is dearly loved. God loved Daniel’s heart in prayer. He loved his humble confession, his adherence to God’s ways, his clinging to God’s promises.

Notice also how God answers Daniel’s specific petitions. Earlier in chapter 9, Daniel had prayed, “O Lord, listen! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, hear and act!” (Dan. 9:19). Daniel prayed for God to listen, and God heard. He prayed for God to forgive, and God dearly loved him, despite his sins and the sins of his people. He prayed for God to act and not delay, and God immediately sent Gabriel. As soon as Daniel began to pray, God gave the answer, which Gabriel has now come to deliver.

II. Broad outline of the seventy ‘sevens’ (24)

Interestingly, although Daniel has been praying about the seventy years, the answer goes well beyond that as Gabriel tells Daniel about seventy ‘sevens’ instead. First, he gives a broad outline before going into greater detail about this period of time. Look at verse 24:

“Seventy ‘sevens’ are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy.” (Dan. 9:24)

Daniel has been praying for his people and for the holy city, and Gabriel gives him a broad outline of what the future holds for them. Six things will be accomplished during the seventy ‘sevens.’ These years have been appointed to: 1) finish transgression, 2) put an end to sin, 3) atone for wickedness, 4) bring in everlasting righteousness, 5) seal up vision and prophecy, and 6) anoint the most holy. (The “most holy” here could refer either to the Most Holy One, which would signify Jesus, or the most holy place, which would signify the new Jerusalem.)

As you look at the list, the items are not chronological. Some refer to Christ’s earthly ministry; some refer to the end of time. This tells us that the seventy ‘sevens’ stretches all the way through the time of Christ’s first coming to the time of his return.

III. Further specifics about the seventy ‘sevens’ (25–27)

Gabriel has given Daniel the broad outline of this time. Now he moves on to give more specific details about these seventy ‘sevens.’

   A. The first sixty-nine ‘sevens’ (25)

He begins by addressing the first sixty-nine ‘sevens.’ Look at verse 25:

“Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven ‘sevens,’ and sixty-two ‘sevens.’ It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble.” (Dan. 9:25)

Here Gabriel gives Daniel three main details about this period of time.

First, this period of sixty-nine ‘sevens’ stretches from the decree to restore Jerusalem until the coming of the Anointed One. Of course, this raises the question: what and when is this decree? Several possibilities have been suggested, but the two most likely candidates are either the decree of Cyrus in 537 B.C. (see Ezra 1) or the decree of Artaxerxes in 457 B.C. (see Ezra 7).

Secondly, this period is split into two additional periods: seven ‘sevens’ plus an additional sixty-two ‘sevens.’ The first seven ‘sevens’ refers to a shorter period of time, perhaps the initial rebuilding, while the sixty-two ‘sevens’ refers to a longer period of time stretching all the way to the time of Christ.

Thirdly, Jerusalem will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble. The word trench can also mean “canal,” so this likely refers to the water tunnels built in Jerusalem. These 69 x 7 years were indeed troubled times for Jerusalem. They faced opposition both in the building of the temple and the city walls, and then were later occupied by Greece, devastated under Antiochus Epiphanes, and eventually conquered by Rome.

Various attempts have been made to make the 483 years match exactly. I think the numbers work best if we understand the decree as the decree of Artaxerxes found in Ezra 7 to finish rebuilding the temple, a decree which later allowed the rebuilding of the city walls under Nehemiah. Artaxerxes issued this decree around 458/457 B.C. Add 483 years to this and that brings you right up to the year Jesus began his public ministry. If this is the correct interpretation, that would make this an amazing prophecy of Scripture that foretold the coming of Jesus right down to the very year.

   B. After the sixty-nine ‘sevens’ (26)

Next Gabriel tells Daniel what will happen after the sixty-nine ‘sevens’ are completed. Look at verse 26 now:

“After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be cut off and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed. (Dan. 9:26)

He gives Daniel three main details about this time period as well. Three things will happen after the sixty-nine ‘sevens’ (or 483 years) are completed.

First, the Anointed One will be cut off. This phrase “the Anointed One” is the same word used for Messiah, so this would be a reference to the crucifixion of Jesus, which, as we have already seen, took place soon after the sixty-nine ‘sevens,’ or 483 years, were completed.

Secondly, the people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. This is a clear reference to the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, which also took place after the sixty-nine ‘sevens’ were completed. The “people” would refer to the Roman army, which first besieged and then destroyed Jerusalem and the temple. The “ruler who will come” could refer either to Titus, the Roman general and later emperor who led the armies against Jerusalem, or it could be another reference to “the little horn” from Daniel 7, whom we identified as the future Antichrist. In that case, the Antichrist is tied to the earlier Roman empire in some way. This makes sense, because we saw that the images describing the Roman empire seem to go beyond that one specific empire and describe the continued opposition to God and his people displayed throughout history.

And then thirdly, Gabriel says there will be wars and desolation until the end. Jesus spoke about “desolation” in the gospel of Luke when he told his disciples: “When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near…. For this is the time of punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written” (Luke 21:20–22). Jesus’ words refer to the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, but then Jesus goes beyond this when he tells the disciples about wars and rumors of wars, and famines and earthquakes (Matt. 24:6–7). Jesus said, “All these are the beginning of birth pains” (Matt. 24:6–8).

So, three things will happen after the sixty-nine ‘sevens’ are completed: 1) the Anointed One will be cut off; 2) the city and sanctuary will be destroyed; and 3) there will be wars and desolation until the end. Numbers one and two have already taken place. We are still living through the events described in number three.

   C. The final ‘seven’ (27)

Finally, Gabriel tells Daniel about the final ‘seven.’ Look at verse 27 with me now:

“He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’ In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing of the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.” (Dan. 9:27)

This final ‘seven,’ also known as Daniel’s “seventieth week,” is the most controversial of them all. There are three main views as to what this final ‘seven’ refers to.

The first view sees the final ‘seven’ as immediately following the first sixty-nine, with Christ’s death and resurrection then setting the last days in motion. The second view sees it as symbolic of all the last days, starting from Christ’s death and resurrection until he returns. And then the third view, sometimes called the gap view, sees this final ‘seven’ as a literal seven-year period in the future, often referred to as the seven-year period of tribulation or the Great Tribulation.

Either way, three things happen in this final seven-year period, and they all have to do with the ruler who will come:

1. He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’
2. In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering.
3. He will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.

Some people view the ruler to come as Christ, who comes making the new covenant. In that case, the end to sacrifice and offering is Christ’s death culminating in the destruction of the temple. And then the abomination of desolation is either the death of Christ or Titus destroying the temple, prefiguring the Antichrist who will demand false worship at the end of time. (In this view the “one who makes desolate” is a different person than the ruler to come, who is identified as Christ.)

The more common view is that the ruler to come is the Antichrist, who comes making a false covenant with God’s people. The end to sacrifice and offering is the breaking of that covenant. And then the abomination of desolation is the false worship he demands for himself.

Of course, this becomes even more difficult to interpret when you remember that we learned about another individual in Daniel 8 who would arise during the Greek empire and would also bring an end to sacrifice. That person was Antiochus Epiphanes, who stopped the daily sacrifices and set himself up to be worshiped. He also performed an abomination of desolation when he set up an image of Zeus in the temple and sacrificed a pig on the altar.

So we have the “little horn” in Daniel 7, which most likely refers to the future Antichrist (Dan. 7:8), “another horn” in Daniel 8, which refers to Antiochus (Dan. 8:9–12), and then we have the “ruler to come” in Daniel 9, which most likely refers either to Titus or the future Antichrist. How do you tie all these threads together?

I believe the best way forward is to see what Jesus said about this in the gospels. Jesus referred to this prophecy from Daniel in Matthew 24 when he said: “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand—then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains” (Matt. 24:15–16).

Here Jesus seems to tie together Daniel’s various prophecies into a sequence where Antiochus during the Greek empire prefigures the destruction of Jerusalem during the Roman empire, which then prefigures the Antichrist and the final conflict that takes place at the end of time. Jesus even hints that this may be hard for us to grasp when he says, “Let the reader understand.”

CONCLUSION: No matter how you interpret it, this passage about the seventy ‘sevens’ is a fascinating section of Scripture, which also gives us some important applications for our lives today. Let me share with you three applications in closing.

1) An encouragement to pray

First, this entire passage should be an amazing encouragement to pray. As soon as Daniel began to pray, the answer was given. God often answers our prayers before we know the answer for ourselves. God’s timing can vary. In Daniel 10 we will see an example where an angel was detained for twenty-one days before reaching Daniel with his message (Dan. 10:12–14). The important thing to remember here is that while you are still praying, God is already working, and as soon as you begin praying, God has already begun answering. And that is a wonderful encouragement to pray.

2) Prophecy is tricky

Secondly, it is important to remember that prophecy is tricky. Many of the Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah did not become clear until Jesus actually came. So when we get these long, detailed prophecies in the Bible with all of these strange numbers and images and symbols, we need to be careful not to be overly dogmatic as to what it all means. The details are important because without the details you don’t have a picture. But we need to focus on the big picture rather than the details.

3) Focus on the big picture

And that leads us to our third application, which is this: focus on the big picture. When you’re reading the book of Revelation, when you’re reading these prophecies in Daniel, don’t get hung up on all the details. Focus on the big picture instead.

What is the big picture of this seventy-week prophecy here in Daniel 9? Gabriel told Daniel that during the first seven ‘weeks’ (that is, 49 years; the weeks are seven-year periods) God’s people would return and rebuild Jerusalem, and they did, prophecy fulfilled. He told Daniel that during the next sixty-two ‘weeks’ the people of Jerusalem would experience many years of hardship, and they did, prophecy fulfilled. In connection with the final week, Gabriel told Daniel that the Messiah would come, he would die and atone for sin, he would fulfill all prophecy, and he would bring in everlasting righteousness. He did, and he will. Prophecy fulfilled again.

God gave Daniel this prophecy to let him know that tough times were still ahead for God’s people. God gave us this prophecy to let us know that tough times are ahead for us as prefigured by Antiochus and the destruction of Jerusalem, but God’s enemies will finally be destroyed, and Christ will be exalted. This brings us back to the initial vision of the rock in Daniel 2 — the rock that is the kingdom of God that destroyed the kingdoms of the world and grew to fill the whole earth.

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This was an important message for Daniel, and it’s an important message for us as well. Even though the seventy years for Babylon were completed and the exiles would soon go home, Israel still had a long road ahead of them. God outlined the major events of history leading up to Christ’s death and resurrection and then leading up to his return.

God gave this very precise outline of history as it relates to God’s people. Jesus began his public ministry exactly 483 years after the decree of Artaxerxes to rebuild the city. Jesus expanded on the prophecies of Daniel to show how these prophecies relate to the rest of time until he returns.

There will be trouble before triumph, but triumph is coming. So may we be prepared for trouble but also encouraged to pray, knowing that Christ will return, Christ will conquer, and all of history is in God’s hands.

© Ray Fowler

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