Segment 6 - Daniel 9
“God’s Timing Is So Perfect”
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“… Who foretold this long ago, who declared it from the
the distant past? Was it not I, the Lord? And there is no God
apart from me, a righteous God and Savior; there is none but me.”
Isaiah 45:21

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This Land Is My Land

Few Christians today understand this point: “… [The Lord said to Israel] the land is mine and you are but aliens and my tenants.” (Leviticus 25:33, insertion mine) Many people believe that God’s promise to Abraham is still binding, and they believe that modern Israel is entitled to the land that was inhabited by the Palestinians for the past few centuries. This is not true! God did not grant Canaan to Israel without conditions. (Leviticus 18; Deuteronomy 28) In fact, the same requirements hold true for all nations. God owns all of Earth. He created the continents, and through the blood of Christ, He purchased humanity back to Himself. (Romans 5:18) God allows nations to occupy a parcel of land for as long as that nation upholds principles of righteousness. (Acts 17:26) When rebellion within a nation becomes so great that there is no recovery, God cauterizes the malignancy of sin by sending destruction to that nation. He overthrows offending governments and slows the degenerate process of sin by killing of most, if not all, of its inhabitants. God turns the land over to another nation and the process starts over. King Nebuchadnezzar thought Babylon was an invincible city, but Babylon became decadent and rebellious, so God opened the city gates giving the land to the Medes and Persians in a single night. (Daniel 5)

Part III

The prayer of Daniel continues: “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. 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. 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.

“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. O my God, incline thy 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 righteousness, but for thy great mercies. O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for the city and thy people are called by thy name.” (Daniel 9:14-19, KJV)

Commentary on Part III

Daniel’s prayer and Jesus’ prayer recorded in John 17 are the best examples of intercessory prayer in the Bible. Prayer coming from a contrite heart always gains an audience with God. (Psalm 51:17; Isaiah 57:15; Isaiah 66:2) “The Lord detests the sacrifice of the wicked, but the prayer of the upright pleases him.” (Proverbs 15:8)

The Bible indicates that God answers the prayers of a humble petitioner in one of three ways: “Yes, No or Wait.” (Psalm 66:18; 1 John 1:9; Hebrews 5:7) If, in His omniscient wisdom, God says “No” or “Wait,” He knows the consternation His decision will bring, so God sends peace in the middle of the storm if we are willing to receive it. Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27) At best, this world offers a peace that is temporal and fleeting. The carnal nature is at peace when everything is going according to its will, but a new disturbance can rise out of nowhere and ruin its peace in a heartbeat. Jesus offers a different type of peace than the world can give. His peace transcends the anxieties of life. (Isaiah 26:3) When God’s peace rests on us, we have joy and we cease worrying – knowing that He is in control. Of course, this does not mean that God’s decisions will necessarily be what we think is best; rather, God’s peace comes from knowing that He will make the best of the situation. Daniel went peacefully to the lions’ den and his three friends went peacefully to the fiery furnace. They were concerned, but they had peace about their decision. We find and receive God’s peace “which passes all understanding” when we submit to the wisdom and plans of a sovereign God. Faith in God is not easy to maintain. Israel’s history proves this. Without faith, it is impossible to please Him. (Hebrews 11:6)

Part IV

“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 [or mountain] – 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. He instructed me and said to me, “Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding [into the earlier vision]. 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 [earlier] vision:” (Daniel 9:20-23, italics and insertions mine.)

Commentary on Part IV

The appearance of the angel Gabriel suddenly interrupted Daniel’s prayer. Gabriel and Daniel first met during the vision recorded in Daniel 8. So, “the vision” mentioned in verse 21 refers to the vision of the ram, goat, and horn power which occurred about twelve years earlier, in 550 B.C. When Gabriel appeared, he said, “As soon as you began to pray, an answer was given, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed.” Daniel’s prayer takes about three minutes to read out loud. Since Gabriel flew to Daniel’s location with an answer as soon as he began too pray, we have to conclude that we are not far away from our Father’s ear. (For comparison, it takes about eight minutes for light to travel from the Sun to Earth.)

Gabriel’s remarks to Daniel total less than 250 words and the casual Bible student will find them to be cryptic and obscure. Although Gabriel’s words were few, they are packed with meaning. Since many people do not understand the architecture of Daniel (which was sealed up until the time of the end) or how the Jubilee Calendar works, many expositors have distorted and manipulated Gabriel’s words so that millions of Christians anticipate a series of prophetic events that will never occur. This is a horrible tragedy in the making. Bible prophecy is about to unfold in a way that is contrary to the views of millions of people, and when many Christians are disappointed, they will feel very bitter towards God and their religious leaders who mislead them.

The Question

Gabriel said “an answer” was given when Daniel began to pray, so what was Daniel’s question? A personal question had churned within Daniel’s heart for twelve years. Daniel wanted to understand the previous vision, because he was told during the vision of Daniel 8 that God’s people would be destroyed by the horn power from the north. This information was contrary to everything Daniel believed about Israel’s destiny. Remember Daniel’s mindset before he began to pray? (See my earlier commentary on Part I.) Daniel knew that God had selected the descendants of Abraham from among the nations of Earth to be trustees of the everlasting gospel. Daniel also understood that God had chosen Israel to be a light for the Gentiles. Israel was to show the world the way to God. Even more, Daniel knew that God had promised Abraham that his children would be as numerous as the stars of the sky when God established His kingdom on Earth. However, Daniel was disturbed that Israel was not included in any of the previous visions! Nothing was included about Israel in the visions of Daniel 2 or Daniel 7, and 8 indicates that God’s people would be destroyed by the horn power: “He [the horn power] will destroy the mighty men and the holy people.” (Daniel 8:24)

Daniel was a devout Jew and he had absorbed a very strong prophetic paradigm as he grew up. In Daniel’s mind, there was no question that his people would play a prominent role when God set up His kingdom on Earth. Jewish culture instilled this prophetic destiny in every child from birth and Daniel was no exception. Daniel believed the Jewish nation would be exalted among the nations of the world as a kingdom of priests. (Exodus 19:3-7) However, reality produced a stark contrast in Daniel’s mind. Israel was not a kingdom of priests. Israel was once again a nation of prisoners in a foreign land, and to make matters worse, there is no reference in his previous visions to a glorious role for the Jews. In fact, it was the other way around. Daniel learned the horn would destroy “the holy people.” This information greatly stressed the elder statesmen.

God is so wise in everything He does. He solved two problems with one action when He sent Gabriel to Daniel. First, God gave Daniel the information he wanted, although “the answer” was not what Daniel had hoped to hear. Second, God ordained that Gabriel’s words be published so that future generations would know about His plans for Israel.

God wanted Israel to know that His plans were much more inclusive than merely allowing the Jews to inhabit Jerusalem again. God wanted Israel to know that their restoration was deliberate and conditional. Israel would be given one last chance to accomplish the mission and purpose for which He had called them out of Egyptian slavery, and now, Babylonian captivity.

The Answer

Gabriel said, “I have now come to give you insight and understanding [into this earlier vision]. 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 [earlier] vision.” (Daniel 9:22-23, insertions mine) When Gabriel began to speak, the angel said nothing about Daniel’s prayer, that is, the imminent fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecy and the release of Israel from Babylon. This is interesting because deliverance from Babylon was the focus of Daniel’s prayer. Instead of presenting details about deliverance from Babylon, Gabriel presented a sequence of events that integrated the nation of Israel into the earlier vision of Daniel 8. This sequence of events spans 527 years (457 B.C. – A.D. 70), and this span of time began during the time of the ram that Daniel saw in the previous vision. (Daniel 8)

Plan A – Plan B

In essence, Gabriel revealed “Plan B.” God had a back-up plan for Israel because Israel irreparably ruined “Plan A” which was God’s original plan for the nation. A new generation of Jews were about to be freed from captivity to do God’s will. It is interesting to note how deliverance from Babylon parallels Israel’s deliverance from Egypt. The first generation had to die because of rebellion before God could start with a new generation. According to Gabriel, God had much more planned for Israel than merely returning the Jews to Jerusalem. God wanted to establish His eternal kingdom on Earth within 500 years! This could be accomplished if Israel fulfilled certain terms and conditions. Consider the following paraphrase of Gabriel’s words (Daniel 9:24-27):

1. Seventy weeks of probationary time are determined upon Israel to: a) finish the years allotted for sin on Earth, b) to bring in atonement for sin and establishing everlasting righteousness, c) to seal up the vision and its predictions so that its content might not be known, and d) to anoint the Messiah.

2. From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah begins Hi ministry, there will be one Jubilee cycle of 49 years plus 62 weeks (434 years) for a total of 483 years.

3. In the middle of the seventieth week, Messiah will be rejected by His people and be put to death. The execution of Messiah will confirm the unilateral covenant of salvation that God gave to Adam and Eve, and Messiah will put an end to the sacrifices and offerings required since the fall of Adam and Eve.

4. After Jerusalem and the temple are rebuilt, they will be totally destroyed again because of rebellion.

5. Wars and desolations have been decreed upon the Jews and Jerusalem until the end of time.

6. The destroyer, Lucifer, will continue his deadly work until the end of time.

Gabriel’s statements are not difficult to understand if a person has a working knowledge of three subjects: 1) God’s use of unilateral and bilateral covenants with Adam and Eve, and Abraham and his descendants; 2) the operation of God’s Jubilee Calendar, and 3) what history reveals about the timing of Christ’s ministry on Earth. When these three matters are properly understood, the events predicted by Gabriel were fulfilled with a precision that is astonishing! Even more, history confirms the alignment of these events within the prophetic matrix that began unfolding in Daniel 2.

(Note: A study on unilateral and bilateral covenants is found in the Bible study room of this site. A study on the operation of the Jubilee Calendar is found in the reading room under, Great Clocks from God.)

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