FACT:  The Book of Daniel contains two key prophecies that present an overview from his time to the Second Coming of the Messiah

Key Scripture:   "He [Jesus in a preincarnate appearance] said to me, 'O Daniel, man of high esteem, understand the words that I am about to tell you and stand upright, for I have now been sent to you,'  And when He had spoken this word to me, I stood up trembling" (Daniel 10:11).



A Man of High Esteem

Daniel is referred to in the Hebrew Scriptures as one of the most righteous men who had ever lived, together with Noah and Job (Ezekiel 14:14). In the passage quoted above, he is told that God held him in "high esteem."



It was  to this man that God gave two of the most important prophecies recorded in the Old Testament.  One is "The Prophecy of the Kingdoms" which is recorded in Daniel 2:31-45.  The other is usually referred to as "The Prophecy of the 70 Weeks of Years."  It can be found in Daniel 9:24-27.



These are foundational prophesies because each one presents an overview of events from the time of Daniel to the Second Coming of the Messiah.  And The Prophecy of the 70 Weeks of Years also provides the timing of the Lord's First Coming.  So, let's take a brief look at these two prophesies. 



The Prophecy of the Kingdoms

Early in the 70 years of the Jew's Babylonian captivity, in about 603 BC, the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, had a dream that deeply disturbed him (Daniel 2:1-16).  When his wise men could not help him remember the dream nor give him an interpretation, one of the Jewish captives, a young man named Daniel, sent word to the king that through the power of his God, he could both reveal the dream and give its interpretation (Daniel 2:17-30)



Daniel told the king that he had seen in his dream a great and splendid statue.  The head was made of gold, the arms and chest of silver, the thighs of bronze and the legs of iron.  Its feet were composed of an unstable mixture of iron and clay.  As the king was admiring the statue, a supernatural stone suddenly crushed the feet, turning the whole statue into a pile of dust.  The stone then expanded into a mountain that filled the whole earth (Daniel 2:31-35).



Daniel proceeded to give the interpretation of the dream.  He told Nebuchadnezzar that the head of gold represented the Babylonian Empire, the chest of silver was the Medo-Persian Empire and the thighs of bronze were symbolic of the Greek Empire that would conquer the Medes and Persians (Daniel 2:36-40 and 8:20-21).  Daniel did not specifically identify the fourth kingdom symbolized by the legs of iron, but we know from history that it was the Roman Empire, with the legs representing the Western and Eastern manifestations of the empire.



We know from other prophecies about the end times that the fragile feet represented the last Gentile empire of history - namely, the worldwide empire of the Antichrist which would appear very powerful on the outside but would be rotten within - thus the symbol of iron mixed with clay (Daniel 2:41-46). 



The supernatural stone, "cut out without hands," represented the kingdom of the Messiah.  Its crushing of the statue was a prophecy that at the Second Coming of the Messiah, His kingdom will supplant all the Gentile kingdoms of the world and will encompass the entire earth (Daniel 2:45).



Fifty years later, this same sequence of empires was presented to Daniel in a vision, but instead of a glorious statue, Daniel saw a series of devouring wild beasts - representing the way God views the kingdoms of Man (Daniel 8:1-13, 20-27).



Those who do not believe Jesus will ever return to this earth to reign argue that the supernatural stone that takes over the world represents the Church.  But that cannot be true because the New Testament never pictures the Church taking over the world.  In fact, the end time prophecies about the Church indicate that it will become increasingly weak because of heresies and apostasy.  Further, Daniel is told several times that the prophecies given to him pertain to the end times (Daniel 8:19, 10:14 and 12:4,9).



The 70 Weeks of Years

Twenty-five years after Daniel revealed and interpreted Nebuchadnezzar's dream of the sequence of world empires, he was given a sweeping overview prophecy about the future which has come to be known as "The Prophecy of the 70 Weeks of Years" - representing a period of 490 years (Daniel 9:24-27).



The prophecy was given to Daniel by the Angel Gabriel (Daniel 9:20-23).  Daniel was told that God was going to accomplish six goals among the Jewish people during a period of 490 years.  The goals were (Daniel 9:24):

 

• "Finish the transgression" (end the rebellion of the Jewish people against their Messiah).
• "Make an end of sin" (by bringing the Jewish people to repentance and the acceptance of their Messiah).
• "Make atonement for iniquity" (through the sacrifice of the messiah).
• "Bring in everlasting righteousness" (with the establishment of the Messianic Kingdom).
• "Seal up vision and prophecy" (through the fulfillment of all Messianic prophecies).
• "Anoint a most holy place" (through provision of the Millennial Temple described in Ezekiel 40-46 and the return of God's Shekinah Glory to it as described in Ezekiel 43:1-2).

 

Daniel was told that the 490 years would begin with the "issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem" (Daniel 9:25).  It was then revealed that 69 weeks of years thereafter (483 years) the Messiah would come and be "cut off" (Daniel 9:26).  That would be followed by the Temple being destroyed (Daniel 9:26).  The final week of years (7 years) would take place after "the prince who is to come" (the Antichrist) makes a "firm covenant" with Israel (Daniel 9:27).



This is an amazing prophecy.  For one thing, it pinpoints the time of the First Coming of the Messiah.  Scholars disagree over the starting point of the prophecy in history.  There are three possible dates, but regardless of which date you use, the 483 years leading up to the cutting off (killing) of the Messiah concludes either during the ministry of Jesus or on the very day He entered Jerusalem for the last time.



This, incidentally, is an immense problem for the Jewish people since it means, according to one of their own prophets, that the Messiah had to come before 70 A.D. when the Temple was destroyed by the Romans.



Those who do not believe in a future reign of Jesus here on earth try to argue that the final seven years of the prophecy occurred immediately following His crucifixion.  But this cannot be true because only one of the six goals to be accomplished among the Jewish people during the 490 years of the prophecy has yet become a reality - and that is the atonement for sins.  The other five goals remain unaccomplished.



So, the prophecy must have a gap between the 483 years and the final seven years.  And that gap, of course, is the current Church Age.  The final seven years will not start until the Antichrist signs a covenant with Israel.  That will launch the seven year period of the Tribulation that is described in detail in the book of Revelation.  During that time the Jewish people will be brought to the end of themselves, motivating them to repent and receive Yeshua (Jesus) as their Messiah (Zechariah 12:10 and Matthew 23:39). 



Regarding the gap, think of it this way:  There are four quarters of 15 minutes each in a football game, for a total of one hour.  But most football games last more than three hours.  Why?  Because of gaps called "time outs" and a half time break.  We are currently in a time out of the 70 weeks of Years prophecy.  It will end when the Antichrist makes his covenant with Israel.



Quotation:

"There is not a liberal theologian in the world, past or present, who accepts the authenticity of the Book of Daniel.  They all deny its integrity, declaring the book to be a blatant, patent forgery.  They define its contents as pure, unadulterated fiction ...We ask:  Why this increasing and vicious attack against the book?  The answer is clear and plain.  The book is discredited because of the attempt on the part of modern rationalism to destroy the supernatural and prophetic in the Bible.  The ultimate aim of the destructive critic is to make of the Bible a human book like any other book" - W.A. Criswell (1909-2002), pastor of First Baptist in Dallas, TX.



Lamb & Lion Ministries  www.lamblion.com