I Dare You: Understand! - Part A

One of the remarkable things is that for Daniel himself, it obviously wasn't an easy grasp, because three times in the text, Daniel is told by the angel who gives them this, you need to understand this.

God chose to reveal something to Daniel that would change the entire world, a prophecy about the Messiah. And today on Connect with Skip Heitzig, Skip helps you understand what God revealed in Daniel chapter 9. But first, we want to tell you about a resource designed to help your marriage flourish. Great marriages are made, not born. God wants you to have a strong, thriving, and fun marriage.

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That's connectwithskip.com slash offer. Okay, let's get started. We're in Daniel 9 as we join Skip. I don't know what it was like for you in high school, but for me, there were certain subjects that were easy and other ones that were more difficult for me to understand. PE, I was pretty good at. Photography class, I enjoyed that. I understood the concepts. Drama class, kind of like that.

I was in drama in high school. But there were some other courses that were tough to understand. I had good teachers. Mr. Wiselick was my chemistry and physics teacher, and the prize student was Shirley Ihde.

She got it. I required a little more care to understand it, so he would frequently ask questions like, do you understand? Do you have any questions? Then I had an algebra class with Mr. Edinburg, a really sweet guy, smart guy from the south.

Laura Schaefer was the prize student in that class. I was not. And Mr. Edinburg would often say to me, do you understand? Do you got any questions?

Of course, my biggest question is, why am I here? I made it through algebra. I made it through math classes, but it took a little more energy for me to understand. Now, that's funny because later on, when I was tested for my aptitude and what I should choose a career in, the tester said, based upon this information, you should choose a math-related field for your occupation.

I said, not on your life. And I feel that in dealing with Daniel chapter nine, it's sort of a flashback for me of some of my math courses. It's a technical timetable of the future that deals with the Messiah and the nation of Israel. And we're going to be looking beginning at verse 20 in Daniel chapter nine today. One of the remarkable things is that for Daniel himself, it obviously wasn't an easy grasp because three times in the text, Daniel is told by the angel who gives them this, you need to understand this. Do you understand? Pay attention.

You need to understand. So, look in verse 22 where he says, I have come forth to give you skill to understand. Verse 23, therefore, consider the matter and understand the vision. And then in verse 25, know therefore and understand. I got to let you know that when I finally understood this section of scripture, I was able to win more skeptics to Christ by it than just about any other place.

It armed me with the equipment to show how precise and exact God was in predicting coming events. Now, let me just say that Daniel chapter nine, and in particular, this section is known by Bible scholars as the backbone of Bible prophecy. It's called that because everything else in scripture prophetically attaches to this. And here is Daniel, he knows that 70-year captivity is almost over and he goes to his knees and begins to pray to God based upon that knowledge. And then the Lord reveals to him something that blew his mind in the future. You're praying about 70 years of captivity, let me let you in on my plan for the Jewish nation, including the Messiah in years ahead. By the way, the Messiah is mentioned in this text prophetically.

Jesus is implied, inferred, predicted in this text. He's the center of everything. There was once a father who came home from work just bone tired. And he just dreamed of just reading the paper for an hour, chilling for an hour, kicked his shoes off, grabbed the newspaper, sat in his big easy chair, pulled it back, opened the newspaper, big sigh. Just then his five-year-old boy came bounding out of the bedroom and said, daddy, let's play.

Last thing he wanted to do was play. So he had to figure out something and he thought very quickly in the newspaper was a full page advertisement showing a picture of the earth, saying something like, you know, the best whatever in the world, and it's a big picture of the earth. So dad gets his scissors, cuts the earth up in little puzzle pieces, gives the handful of the newspaper cut pieces to his son with tape, and he says, go put this puzzle together, put all the earth back together.

And when you're done with that game, then come back and we'll play. Dad thinks, what, I got 30 minutes, an hour, five minutes. His son comes back in the room, all taped together beautifully, the earth. And dad goes, how did you do it so quickly?

The boy says, it's pretty easy. On the back is a picture of a man. And when I put the man together, the whole world came together. When you get Jesus Christ right, the whole world comes together. And I would say, when you get Daniel chapter 9 right and you understand it, the rest of prophetic literature that deals with the whole world also comes together. We have four verses in particular that are very detailed verses, a mathematical calculation that is going to require all of your mental energy this morning. Now, you know, by the way, that about one fourth of the Bible is prophecy. And what is prophecy? Simply this, it's history written in advance. God knows the end from the beginning, and God can write before it happens what is going to happen as if it were a past tense event.

And Daniel's filled with that. In fact, prophecy is what separates the men from the boys. You might have all sorts of belief systems, all sorts of world religions with lots of devotees. But when you deal with this book, you are dealing with prophecy that no other religious system has or can match.

Let's take a swipe at this. Beginning in verse 20, where we left off in verse 19, Now while I was speaking, 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, yes, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, reached me about the time of the evening offering. And he informed me and talked with me and said, Oh, Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill to understand. At the beginning of your supplications, the command went out, and I have come to tell you for you are greatly beloved.

Therefore, consider the matter and understand the vision. 70 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. 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 62 weeks. The street shall be built again and the wall even in troublesome times. And after 62 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 until the end of the war.

Desolations are determined. Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week. But in the middle of the week, he shall bring an end to the 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. Now, we need to understand what we just read generally, specifically, messianically, futuristically, and most important, practically.

First of all, there's just some general things you need to be aware of. First, this is an answer to prayer. Daniel's been reading the Bible, Jeremiah in particular. He falls to his knees, begins to pray. He doesn't even finish the prayer, can't even get an amen at the end of it out, and it's already answered. By a messenger, an angel, Gabriel, he is called, in the form of a man, he's shown up before in this book.

He will show up again in chapter 12. He's called the Prince or the Chief Prince of the people of Israel. He's like God's bouncer for the nation of Israel. The year is 538 B.C. Daniel is about 86 years of age. In reading Jeremiah's prediction that Israel will be captive in Babel in 70 years, he realizes 70 years is almost up. He begins to pray, and God gives him the opportunity to pray.

70 years is almost up. He begins to pray, and God gives him further revelation for the future. The second general thing to make a note of is that this is related, in particular, to the Jewish people. Not all peoples, but to the Jewish people.

Notice it says in verse 24, 70 weeks are determined for your people. Daniel was Jewish, and for your holy city, he came from the city of Jerusalem. So this is dealing with the main player when it comes to prophetic literature, and that is the Jewish people.

This is also in contrast to all of the previous revelations, dreams, and visions in the book of Daniel that have to deal with Gentile world powers, from Daniel's time to the end of the age. This is now dealing, in particular, with the Jewish nation. And to say the least, it is like the most amazing nation ever. Go all the way back to Genesis 12, when God said to Abram, I'm going to bless you, and out of you will come a great nation. I will make you a great nation. And whoever blesses you, I will bless.

Whoever curses you, I will curse. But Abram, you're going to be the father of a great nation. The world population right now is around 7 billion people. 13 million of that 7 billion are Jews. That's less than two-thirds of 1%. But did you know that between 25% and 33%, depending on the category, about a third of all of the Nobel Prizes ever given out have been collected by Jewish people?

Amazing. That little nation in the Middle East called Israel, that tiny little piece of real estate, won 300 the size of China, gets three times the headlines. Adolf Hitler managed to kill 6 million Jews.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Iran would like to wipe the rest out. But God has a special plan for this nation. The third general thing about this is that we're dealing with a set time, a timetable.

Look at verse 24. 70 weeks are determined for your people. You see the word determined? It's important that you know what that means. It means divided or cut out of something.

70 weeks have been cut out of time. It's as if God takes the sweep of history from the beginning to the end and cuts out a certain period to reveal to Daniel and those of us who would take the time to study it and read it, to show us what's going to happen during that specified period of time for his people and including the Messiah. Now why is this important? Because every now and then you're going to meet a person who calls himself a deist. Have you ever heard of that word or met somebody who goes, well I'm a deist. I believe that there's a God, don't know who it is, what it is, but I believe that this God is sort of passive, aloof, distant. He wound up the world like a big clock and then he just sort of steps back and watches things happen.

That's a deist. There are even some in that camp who believe that God is learning as he lets things happen. So he's not in control of anything.

He's certainly not managing personally the affairs of the world. He's just learning and watching things happen going, oh look at that, that's like really cool. We're dealing with a God who is very very precise and keeps perfect time. Now what is the time? Well it says 70 weeks are determined. Now I know it says weeks in your Bible but it doesn't say that in Hebrew. In Hebrew it says literally 70 sevens or 70 sets of seven something. It could be days, could be years. In fact I'm going to show you that I believe it's referring to 70 weeks of years because that's how many translations will even translate this including Jewish translations.

So 77s are determined for your people it says. Here in the west we mark time by increments of 10. So a 10-year period is a decade.

We talk about living through the 60s or the 70s or the 80s or the 90 that seems so long ago. Decades in Jewish thought it wasn't decades as much as periods of seven heptads. In fact if you know your Old Testament you know that they they kept a whole period of seven in their days in their years. So there was a six in one pattern. For six days you work on the seventh day you rest that's Sabbath. But also with years for six years you plow and you till the ground but the seventh year you let the ground lay fallow and you just eat whatever comes naturally. That was God's law. Six and one.

Six and one. Keep in mind that Daniel this guy has been reading Jeremiah's prophecy that Israel will be captive for 70 years. Years. That 70-year captivity was based upon Israel's history of disobedience. Now I'm going to turn to it if you're quick on your feet you can turn to it as well but I'm already there so why bother. Second Chronicles chapter 36 you can mark and look at it later. It's the end of that book. It's describing Israel going into captivity.

This is what it says. And those verse 20 Second Chronicles 36 those who escaped from the sword he carried away to Babylon where they became servants to him and his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah until the land had enjoyed her Sabbaths. As long as she lay desolate she kept the Sabbath to fulfill 70 years. Now God gives to us the reason why 70 years captivity because they had disobeyed in keeping the seventh year where you plow and then the seventh year you let the land rest. God says you owe me 70 years which implies that for 490 years Israel in their history had been disobedient and had not kept this seventh year land thing. So here's Daniel he's reading Jeremiah and he says the 70-year captivity based upon 490 years of disobedience is almost up.

He hits the ground he starts praying then he gets further revelation in answer to his prayer from the angel Gabriel saying I want to tell you about another period of time coming up even more significant than the 70-year captivity based upon 490 years of disobedience. 70 weeks 77s are determined upon your people and I believe it refers to 70 sets of seven years or 70 weeks of years. Jewish commentary say that the Mishnah says that the new revised standard version says 70 weeks of years the new century version says God has ordained 490 years. So we're dealing with a specific time period of 490 years and now I want you to see that we should understand it specifically not just generally specifically and you'll see what I mean that it has to be years and not days because notice what has to be fulfilled look at verse 24. 70 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.

It's a very complex but highly accurate verse of scripture. There are six things that will be fulfilled during this cut out period of time that we're dealing with. 70 weeks 77s 490 years there are six things. Three of those things I believe have been fulfilled at the first coming of Jesus. The second three will be fulfilled at the second coming of Jesus. The first three are negative they deal with sin the next three are positive they deal with the kingdom.

The first three to finish the transgression to make an end of sins that's plural one singular one's plural to make reconciliation for iniquity the word reconciliation is the word kaphar in Hebrew means to cover or atone for. When Jesus came the first time that's what it was all about. He came to fix the sin problem. There is no other name given under heaven among men by which we must be saved said Peter except the name of Jesus. He came to deal with sin to manage sin to give God the ultimate reason to judge people if they reject him and that is their sin but to deal with it all on the cross to make atonement for it. Listen Jesus Christ did not come to this earth to just be a good example for people or to say nice little things and we could say oh I admire Jesus he said so many wonderful things and he was a great example no he came to deal with sin if our greatest need would have been information or technology God would have sent us a scientist if our greatest need would have been for money God would have sent us an economist if our greatest need would be for pleasure God would have sent us an entertainer but our greatest need was for forgiveness and so he sent us a savior that's why Jesus came and these three things I believe have been fulfilled at the first coming but notice the next three they haven't been fulfilled they're not done to bring in everlasting righteousness last time I checked that's not going on it will be revelation 19 Jesus comes from heaven to the earth the second time and he enforces righteousness on the earth he rules with a rod of iron then to seal up vision and prophecy to complete all of the predictions made in the old and new testament a lot we're still waiting to have fulfilled and to anoint the most holy in Hebrew kodesh kadashim or the holy of holies literally and it almost always refers to the temple and I believe it's a reference to Ezekiel chapters 40 through 46 which speak of a future millennial temple that is coming but it's safe to say that specifically we're dealing with a time period of 490 years in which these six things must be completed but we need to understand this now messianically because look at verse 25 know therefore and understand that's the commandment that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until messiah the prince there shall be seven weeks and 62 weeks that's 69 weeks the street shall be built again and the wall even in troublesome times folks this is to me the pinnacle of the book of Daniel this verse this to me is the greatest prophecy in all of scripture that concludes Skip heitzig's message from the series i dare you find the full message as well as books booklets and full teaching series at connectwithskip.com right now here's Skip to share how you can keep these messages coming your way to connect you and many others around the world with god's word daniel was able to live as a witness for god because he was intentional about staying connected to the lord that's why we share these teachings to encourage you to keep cultivating your relationship with god we want to invite you to help keep these messages online and on the air so more friends like you can experience god's presence in their life as they keep growing in their faith in this new year i'm praying that we'll be able to reach people in more u.s cities but i'll need your help to make that possible would you consider giving a gift today here's how you can visit connectwithskip.com slash donate to give a gift that's connectwithskip.com slash donate or call 800-922-1888 800-922-1888 thank you for your generosity and did you know you can watch Skip heitzig's teaching from the comfort of your couch on your apple tv or roku simply download the connect with Skip heitzig app on your streaming device and you'll have tons of content at your fingertips be sure to join us next time as Skip shares what your response should be to the prophecy about the messiah found in the book of daniel is a presentation of connection communications connecting you to god's never changing truth in ever-changing times