Daniel 9 | Understanding God’s Prophetic Clock

July 10, 2022

God’s Prophetic Clock – Daniel 9:24-27

A biblical prophecy is a prediction about future events that defy the laws of probability. It can only be fulfilledprovidentially. Daniel 9:24-27 is one of the most amazing prophecies in the entire Bible.

God gave Daniel a 490-year prophecy relating to the Jews in Daniel 9:24-27. 

483 years have been fulfilled; seven years remain to be fulfilled. They are the seven years of tribulation on the earth preceding Christ’s second coming. 483 years were fulfilled culminating with Christ’s first triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The last seven years will be fulfilled culminating with Christ’s second triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

Daniel 9:24-25, Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy. 25 Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandto restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times.

Two keys to understand this prophecy:

1) These are weeks of years not weeks of days—70 weeks of years (70 x 7) or 490 years. The word translated as “week” is the Hebrew word heptad, and it referred to a unit of 7. The context defines 7 of something – in this case the context refers to 70 units of 7 years.

2) God has a prophetic clock, and it stopped when the Jews crucified their Messiah. God’s clock stopped ticking on this prophecy after the 69th week or 483 years were complete when the Jews rejected Christ. It has not ticked now for almost 2000 years. There is still seven years remaining.

(God’s prophetic timeline of events goes here in media)

Luke 21:24, And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

Romans 11:25, For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.

Daniel 9:24-25, Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy. 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; the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times.

Daniel prophesied the PRECISE day Christ would enter Jerusalem at His triumphal entry!

God told Daniel there would be exactly 483 years from the command to rebuild Jerusalem to the coming of the Messiah. While there are debates among scholars about which decree in history should be used, one of the more prominent possibilities was by the Persian King Artaxerxes in the days of Nehemiah—March 14, 445 B.C. as documented by Sir Robert Anderson in his book The Coming Prince. Counting forward 483 Jewish years or exactly 173,880 days brings you to Palm Sunday, April 6, 32 A.D. The day of Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem! 

Daniel now gives us the profile of the coming world ruler known as the Antichrist.

Daniel 9:26, “And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; 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. 

The coming “prince” is associated with the people (Romans) who destroyed Jerusalem and the Jewish temple in 70 A.D. – he is ruler of a future “revived” Roman Empire. It was the Roman 10th Legion under the command of the Roman general Titus that sacked Jerusalem in 70 A.D.

Daniel 9:27, Then he 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 on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation, which is determined, is poured out on the desolate.

The coming “prince” will broker a seven-year peace treaty between Israel and her enemies which starts the seven-year countdown toward Armageddon and the second coming of Christ. It’s the signing of this peace treaty, not the rapture, that actually begins the seven-year tribulation—Daniel’s 70th week. With the signing of the seven- year peace covenant God’s prophetic clock will start ticking down the last seven years!

(Picture of Jewish Menorah on display near the Western Wall in Jerusalem)

Daniel 9:27, Daniel 9:27, Then he 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 on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation, which is determined, is poured out on the desolate.

Midway through the tribulation, the Antichrist will break the peace treaty with Israel launching war on the Jews, and proclaiming himself to be God while sitting in the rebuilt Jewish temple. (See Matthew 24:15-22)

Matthew 24:15-22, Therefore when you see the “abomination of desolation” spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (whoever reads, let him understand), 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 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 [a]elect’s sake those days will be shortened.

God’s prophetic clock is about to start ticking for one last time! Are you ready for eternity

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