Daniel 9:23 “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”.

What led to Daniel’s Prayer?

“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” (Daniel 9:23)

“The moment you began praying, a command was given. I am here to tell you what it was, for God loves you very much. Now listen, so you can understand the meaning of your vision” (TLB).

Comparing Daniel 8, we can see what led to Daniel’s prayer, the vision he had and the understanding given to him by the Man Gabriel, especially in verse 23 when he spoke of the fierce King Antiochus IV Epiphanes.

“He will cause a shocking amount of destruction and succeed in everything he does. He will destroy powerful leaders and devastate THE HOLY PEOPLE…”

In verse 26, we are told, “…He will even take on the Prince of prince (the Lord Himself) in battle, but he will be broken, though not by human power”

So, we saw in history, that no human power could defeat Antiochus 1V Epiphanes, but he reportedly went insane and died in Persia in 164 BC. What man could not do, God did, and he was simply brought down.

But the understanding of the Vision really troubled Daniel, and so he went into Prayers, and what we are about to consider are some of the answers that the man Gabriel brought to him.

Besides, one of the central themes of Daniel’s Prayer was the return of his people to their land, as prophesied and written down by prophet Jeremiah, that God would not allow the captives to return to their Land until 70 years expires (Jeremiah 25:11–12; 29:10). He certainly knew of this prophecy and realized that the time or 70 years period was coming to an end.

So, we found that, from verse 23 is the answer coming to Daniel as a result of this prayer, as a way of understanding, as well, the meaning of his vision;

“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” (verse 24)

“SEVENTY WEEKS” – A MESSIANIC PROPHECY

Before we progress, let us be reminded that, “Dispensational” theology teaches that, the 70th week of Daniel, will not begin until the rapture of the Church has taken place. But, it is still a funny thing that neither the concept nor that of the Rapture can be found in the scriptures.

Friends, let it be noted from the onset, that this prophecy is about the Messiah and His people, and so, it is important to determine the very beginning of the ‘seventy weeks’, as well as their length of time. If these were literal weeks of seven days each, either the prophecy failed to be fulfilled. But that can’t be true (Isaiah 65:10 & 11). Or alternatively, the Messiah must have come more than 24 centuries in the days of the Persian Empire, but was not identified, and in that case, the Biblical requirement fulfilling His coming was not met.

It is evident therefore, that the seventy weeks were symbolic of a much longer time. It is clear also, that the events of this prophecy could not have occurred in a literal seventy weeks, not even a little more than a year and four months.

Majority of Bible Scholars have agreed that, the “weeks’ of the Prophecy are weeks of Years.

“Seventy weeks of years are determined concerning your People and your holy city… ” (RSV)

What we can really see from what the man Gabriel told Daniel, is that another 70 weeks or 490 years are set aside for more of God’s judgment to come upon his people. And within this period, many things are going to happen, amongst which are; (1)  the rebuilding and restoring of Jerusalem, (2) the coming of the Messiah, (3) the end of sin and sin sacrifices, (4) the total destruction of the Magnificent temple, (5) the putting to an end of Judaism and animal sacrifice that were prevalent then.

These then are the things of major light concerning this prophecy, anything else is human conjecture.

Next will be “THE BEGINNING OF THE ‘SEVENTY WEEKS”

To be continued…