Lesson 1 

Daniel 9

     In order to understand Biblical prophecy, we must first agree that God's word is true. Do you have to understand it to make it true? No. On the other hand, do you have to believe it to make it real? Yes. You see, if we question any part of God's word then someone may question you about what you believe. Can you see where this would put our foundation? It is my prayer that this study will draw us closer to God and to each other (the body of Christ).

We are using Daniel 9 to launch into this study of the end times. From Daniel we see that God has a plan and that He has shared it with mankind, before the New Testament. Why is this important for us to know? God is in control (Isa. 14:24, 27). As humans, we sometimes think He is not in control of everything. Moreover, this kind of thinking gets us in trouble in more ways than we can imagine. Therefore, from this moment on STOP thinking this way and start acting like and believing He is in control.

     Now, back to Daniel 9:24, 27 and the vision of the seventy weeks. In verse 24, there are several things going on:
    1) we are told how long it will take to complete this work of God's (we will go deeper into this later in this study);
    2) we are told in general terms what is the purpose of the seventy weeks (all of this can be found just in one verse). The next three verses describe all that is in verse 24. Therefore, with God's help we will start the journey. Please understand that we will not know everything when we finish this study (Matthew 24:36). In verse 24 there is the term '"SEVENTY WEEKS", the Hebrew word for seventy is Shibiym, which means a multiple of seven. The Hebrew word for week is Shabua, which is any period of seven. Therefore, we have seventy sevens. The question is, are we talking about multiple of days, weeks, months, or years? The answer is found by looking at the context in which the word is used. In the early part of the chapter, Daniel deals in years and he would continue the same reference through the rest of the chapter. In the rest of these verses, the prophecy is divided into two parts. We will spend the rest of this lesson and part of the next lesson dealing with part one.

       Do these years have to run consecutively?

     Part one is called the first 69 weeks. In these 69 weeks, there are many things, which will take place. These things all proclaim the Messiah's arrival on the scene.
  
There are four decrees found in the Old Testament:
    1.) Cyrus's decree in 539 B.C. was to rebuild the Temple
    (2 Chronicles 36:22 - 23 ; Ezra1:1 - 4)
    2.) Darius I decreed in 519/518 B.C. confirmation of Cyrus's intent to rebuild the Temple (Ezra 6:1,6-12)
    3.) Artaxerxes I decreed to Ezra in 457 B.C. the return of additional exiles and the beautification of the Temple (Ezra 7:11-26)
    4.) Artaxerxes's decree to Nehemiah in 444 B.C. was for the restoration of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 2:1-8). This is the only decree that fits Daniel 9:25.

    Question, with what you have just learned, after which of these decrees would you start looking for the Messiah? So why is the Jewish Nation still looking for Him? In chapters 2 & 7 of Daniel, the kings are shown dreams that Daniel interprets. These interpretations are part of the 69 weeks. They tell of four new kingdoms coming and controlling the known world at that time: 
   
     Of all the decrees that we have studied, only in Nehemiah do we learn the month and year of the decree. The month was Nisan (March - April) in the year 444 B.C. From that time until the coming of the Messiah is 483 years or 62 weeks plus seven. This calculation is based on prophetical years (360 days per year) which are the same used in Revelation, rather than solar years (365 days per year).

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