Daniel 12 - The Time of the End

Watch Chuck Missler's video on Daniel 12.

Read Daniel 12 and then Revelation 12 because they cover some of the same subject.

Chapter 12 concludes the literary unit of chapters 10-12, which has one unified message:
Chapter 10 is the introduction to that vision. It focuses on the people giving the vision.
Chapter 11, Verses 1-35 focus on events that were future to Daniel, but past tense to us.
Chapter 11, Verses 36 through the end of Chapter 12, focus on events future to us.

J. O. McClurkan: “... there is an awful time coming, the darkness of which will overshadow all the tempestuous epochs of the past, and might very appropriately be termed the world’s midnight.”

(Daniel 11:40-45) "Then AT THE TIME OF THE END, the king of the south will attack him, and the king of the north will storm out against him with chariots, cavalry, and a vast navy. He will invade various lands and sweep through them like a flood. He will enter the glorious land of Israel, and many nations will fall, but Moab, Edom, and the best part of Ammon will escape. He will conquer many countries, and Egypt will not escape. He will gain control over the gold, silver, and treasures of Egypt, and the Libyans and Ethiopians will be his servants. "But then news from the east and the north will alarm him, and he will set out in great anger to destroy many as he goes. He will halt between the glorious holy mountain and the sea and will pitch his royal tents there, but while he is there, his time will suddenly run out, and there will be no one to help him.

(1) "*At that time **Michael, the archangel who stands guard over your nation, will arise. Then there will be a ***time of anguish greater than any since nations first came into existence. But at that time every one of  ****your people whose name is written in *****the book will be ******rescued.

• *At that time alludes to the period just described in 11:36-45 - Antichrist's reign of terror at "the time of the end".
  • Matthew 24:21: For that will be a time of greater horror than anything the world has ever seen or will ever see again.
  • 1 Thessalonians 5:3 : When people are saying, "All is well; everything is peaceful and secure," then disaster will fall upon them as suddenly as a woman's birth pains begin when her child is about to be born. And there will be no escape.
  • “That time” is the time that the “king” of 11:36-45 does his evil work during Daniel’s seventieth week—the Tribulation. He will come to his end by the victory of Messiah.
• **Michael: Revelation 12:7-9: Then there was war in heaven. Michael and the angels under his command fought the dragon and his angels. And the dragon lost the battle and was forced out of heaven. This great dragon -- the ancient serpent called the Devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world -- was thrown down to the earth with all his angels.
• ***time of anguish:
  
  • Zechariah 13:8-9: Two-thirds of the people in the land will be cut off and die, says the LORD. But a third will be left in the land. I will bring that group through the fire and make them pure, just as gold and silver are refined and purified by fire. They will call on my name, and I will answer them. I will say, 'These are my people,' and they will say, 'The LORD is our God.'"
  • Jeremiah 30:7 In all history there has never been such a time of terror. It will be a time of trouble for my people Israel. Yet in the end, they will be saved!
  • Matthew 24:21 For that will be a time of greater horror than anything the world has ever seen or will ever see again
  • Mark 13:19: For those will be days of greater horror than at any time since God created the world. And it will never happen again.
  • Revelation 7:14 : And I said to him, "Sir, you are the one who knows."Then he said to me, "These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb and made them white.
  • 1. It will be a time of Judgment on Apostate Christendom.
    2. It will be a period of special desolation.
    3. Antichrist will be world dictator.
    4. The False Prophet will complete the Trinity of hell: (1) Satan (2) Antichrist (3) False Prophet
  • This time of anguish clearly relates to the Jew, as also does the Lord's prophecy, recorded in Matthew 24 and Mark 13. It will be the climax of God's governmental dealings with that people, who rejected and crucified their Messiah. In the tribulation, there will be not only terrible evils, proceeding from both man and Satan, but the outpouring of the wrath of God, as revealed in Revelation 16. As Christians, we have the assurance that, 'God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ' (1 Thessalonians 5: 9 KJV).
  • Jewish people have known many a time of trouble through their history. From the horrors at the fall of Samaria and Jerusalem to the terrors wrought by Antiochus Epiphanes, to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, to the persecutions from the church during the Dark Ages especially the inquisition and expulsions (the "church" invented the yellow star of the holocaust not Hitler), to the pogroms of Europe and Russia, to the 20th Century Holocaust, it often seems that all Israel's history has been a time of trouble. Yet this time of trouble will be different. This will be a worse time of trouble than Israel has ever seen before.
  • The Jew has always been a target of Satan. He has sought to destroy them because he knew that God has ordained to accomplish His purposes through this nation and brought Christ through them. If Satan could eliminate every Jew on the planet, he would win because all prophecy would prove false and God prove to be a helpless liar.
• ****your people:
• This prophecy has to do with Israel and the Jews, not the church, though the Gentile world would become involved.
• Israel and especially Jerusalem today is already the center of attention, and of much scorn from its neighbors and the rest of the world. That region will host the most horrific conflict of human history - Armageddon!
• *****the book:
• The Book of Life:
• Philippians 4:3: And I ask you, my true teammate, to help these women, for they worked hard with me in telling others the Good News. And they worked with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are written in the Book of Life.
• Revelation 3:5: All who are victorious will be clothed in white. I will never erase their names from the Book of Life, but I will announce before my Father and his angels that they are mine.
• Revelation 13:8: And all the people who belong to this world worshiped the beast. They are the ones whose names were not written in the Book of Life, which belongs to the Lamb who was killed before the world was made.
• Revelation 17:8: The beast you saw was alive but isn't now. And yet he will soon come up out of the bottomless pit and go to eternal destruction. And the people who belong to this world, whose names were not written in the Book of Life from before the world began, will be amazed at the reappearance of this beast who had died.
• Revelation 20:12,15: I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God's throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to the things written in the books, according to what they had done. ... And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire.
• Revelation 21:1-3,27: Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a beautiful bride prepared for her husband. I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, "Look, the home of God is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. ... Nothing evil will be allowed to enter -- no one who practices shameful idolatry and dishonesty -- but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life.
• We learned in Daniel 10:21 that there is in God’s library a book called The Book of  Truth.
• Revelation 5:1,7 tells of a scroll on which the events of the end time are recorded,.
• ******rescued:
• Were faithful Jews rescued when Antiochus IV erected the abomination of desolation in the holy of holies? No.
• Were the faithful Jews rescued when Titus destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple? No (but the Christians had fled).
• Were the faithful Jews rescued during the Middle Ages when the Roman church killed so many (along with thousands of faithful Christians) ? No.
• Were the faithful Jews rescued from the holocaust under Hitler? No.
• So, this is a future event.
• Romans 11:25-27: I want you to understand this mystery, dear brothers and sisters, so that you will not feel proud and start bragging. Some of the Jews have hard hearts, but this will last only until the complete number of Gentiles comes to Christ. And so all Israel will be saved. Do you remember what the prophets said about this? "A Deliverer will come from Jerusalem, and he will turn Israel from all ungodliness. And then I will keep my covenant with them and take away their sins."

(2) Many of those whose bodies lie dead and buried will *rise up, some to **everlasting life and some to ***shame and everlasting contempt.

• *rise up:
• Since the ones being talked about by the angel to Daniel are Jews, this is a special resurrection of Jews who have died during the tribulation period - some of whom were saved and did not take the mark of the beast and some who did take the mark and accepted the false messiah who would come in his own name. This is not a resurrection of the church nor is it a general resurrection. The resurrection of the church would have already taken place when it was removed before the tribulation during the rapture:
• 1 Thessalonians 4:13-16: And now, brothers and sisters, I want you to know what will happen to the Christians who have died so you will not be full of sorrow like people who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus comes, God will bring back with Jesus all the Christians who have died. I can tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not rise to meet him ahead of those who are in their graves. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the call of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, all the Christians who have died will rise from their graves.
• **everlasting life: First occurrence of the term in the Old Testament, though the concept was understood by Job.
• Job 14:14-16: If mortals die, can they live again? This thought would give me hope, and through my struggle I would eagerly wait for release. You would call and I would answer, and you would yearn for me, your handiwork. For then you would count my steps, instead of watching for my sins.
• Job 19:26-27: And after my body has decayed, yet in my body I will see God ! I will see him for myself. Yes, I will see him with my own eyes. I am overwhelmed at the thought!
• Revelation 20:4-6: Then I saw thrones, and the people sitting on them had been given the authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony about Jesus, for proclaiming the word of God. And I saw the souls of those who had not worshiped the beast or his statue, nor accepted his mark on their forehead or their hands. They came to life again, and they reigned with Christ for a thousand years. This is the first resurrection. (The rest of the dead did not come back to life until the thousand years had ended.) Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. For them the second death holds no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him a thousand years
• ***shame and everlasting contempt: I think that everyone in this scene gets saved, only some will receive rewards in heaven and others will be barely saved as in 1 Corinthians 3:13-15 (But there is going to come a time of testing at the judgment day to see what kind of work each builder has done. Everyone's work will be put through the fire to see whether or not it keeps its value. If the work survives the fire, that builder will receive a reward. But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builders themselves will be saved, but like someone escaping through a wall of flames.) Notice the non-reward people get "shame and everlasting contempt". That is not the same as eternal damnation.
• While many believe that the abomination of desolation and chapters 11 and 12 refer to the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in 70 A.D., this verse should put that theory to rest. No resurrection occurred after that event. The same goes for the building of the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount. No, all of this is yet future.

(3) Those who are *wise will **shine as bright as the sky, and those who turn many to righteousness will shine like stars forever.

• *wise: The word here translated WISE is the word used for INSTRUCTORS OR TEACHERS of others. It means wise in the sense of conveying the truth to others. Those who know the truth of God and instruct others therein shall shine as the brightness of the firmament.
• **shine: Matthew 13:43: Then the godly will shine like the sun in their Father's Kingdom. Anyone who is willing to hear should listen and understand!

(4) But you, Daniel, keep this prophecy a *secret; **seal up the book until the time of the end. ***Many will ****rush here and there, and *****knowledge will increase."

• *secret:
• He is saying in effect "Daniel, you will not understand get this vision. But the people who live in or near the time of the end WILL understand it.
• Daniel 8:26: "This vision about the twenty-three hundred evenings and mornings is true. But none of these things will happen for a long time, so do not tell anyone about them yet."
• **seal:
• Revelation 22:10: Then he instructed me, "Do not seal up the prophetic words you have written, for the time is near.
• ***Many: This is probably the "many" in verse 3 - the righteous.
• ****rush here and there, and knowledge will increase:
  • The close of verse 4 with its statement, “Many will rush here and there, and knowledge will increase,” is difficult to translate; and commentators do not agree on its meaning. The familiar interpretation that this phrase refers to increased travel in modern days certainly makes sense, as never in the history of the world has there been more travel. However, in the context the search for knowledge seems to be the main idea. Montgomery interprets it in the light of Amos 8:12, “People will stagger everywhere from sea to sea, searching for the word of the LORD, running here and going there, but they will not find it.” John Calvin translated it, “Many shall investigate, and knowledge shall increase.” Leupold interprets the verse to mean, “Many shall diligently peruse it, and knowledge shall be increased.” In Hebrew, the word for “knowledge” is haddaáat, literally, “THE knowledge,” that is, understanding of this long prophecy. Some consider the sentence as referring to the eyes of a reader running “to and fro” in reading the Word of God. There is no question that there has been an explosion of interest in and desire to understand prophecies of the end times, especially since the World Wars and Israel's independence in 1940.
  • When studied in its context, Daniel 12:4 refers to the fact that during the tribulation period, many Jewish people will study the prophesies of Daniel and come to faith in the Messiah. In the ancient Near East, the custom was to "seal" an important document by impressing upon it the identifying marks of the parties involved and the recording scribe. A sealed text was not to be tampered with or changed. Then the original document was duplicated and placed ("closed up") in a safe place where it could be preserved. Gabriel therefore was instructing Daniel to preserve "the words of the scroll," not merely this final vision but the whole book for those who will live at "the time of the end" when the message will be needed.
• *****knowledge: THE knowledge. Since the definite article is used, the text has in mind specific, not general, knowledge about something. In context, it can refer to nothing other than the understanding of the prophecies that Daniel was commanded to seal up until the end of time. In context, this passage is specifically saying that the Jewish people, as a whole, will not come to understand the prophecies of the book of Daniel until the end of time. The reason that they will not understand the prophecy is because of the spiritual blindness that currently exists among all Jews, except the elect remnant during the church age, when it comes to understanding even their own Old Testament. Paul tells us: "But the people's minds were hardened, and even to this day whenever the old covenant is being read, a veil covers their minds so they cannot understand the truth. And this veil can be removed only by believing in Christ. Yes, even today when they read Moses' writings, their hearts are covered with that veil, and they do not understand. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, then the veil is taken away." (2 Corinthians 3:14-16). That veil will be removed at some point during the tribulation period and Israel will come to understand the proper meaning of their prophetic Scriptures.

(5) Then I, Daniel, looked and saw *two others standing on opposite banks of **the river.

• *two others: So, neither of these is the angel talking to Daniel.
• **the river: Goes back to Daniel 10:4: On April 23, as I was standing beside the great Tigris River, I looked up and saw a man dressed in linen clothing, with a belt of pure gold around his waist.

(6) One of them asked the man dressed in linen, who was now standing above the river, "How long will it be until these shocking events happen?

(7) The *man dressed in linen, who was standing above the river, **raised both his hands toward heaven and took this solemn oath by the one who lives forever: "It will go on for ***a time, times, and half a time. When the shattering of the holy people has finally come to an end, all these things will have happened."

• *man dressed in linen: Daniel 10:5: I looked up and saw a man dressed in linen clothing, with a belt of pure gold around his waist.
• **raised both hands: Revelation 10:5-6: Then the mighty angel standing on the sea and on the land lifted his right hand to heaven. And he swore an oath in the name of the one who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and everything in it, the earth and everything in it, and the sea and everything in it. He said, "God will wait no longer.
• ***a time, times, and half a time:
  • Daniel 7:25: He will defy the Most High and wear down the holy people of the Most High. He will try to change their sacred festivals and laws, and they will be placed under his control for a time, times, and half a time.
  • Daniel 9:27: He will make a treaty with the people for a period of one set of seven, but after half this time, he will put an end to the sacrifices and offerings. Then as a climax to all his terrible deeds, he will set up a sacrilegious object that causes desecration, until the end that has been decreed is poured out on this defiler."
  • Revelation 11:2-3: But do not measure the outer courtyard, for it has been turned over to the nations. They will trample the holy city for 42 months. And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will be clothed in sackcloth and will prophesy during those 1,260 days."
  • Revelation 11:2-3: But do not measure the outer courtyard, for it has been turned over to the nations. They will trample the holy city for 42 months. And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will be clothed in sackcloth and will prophesy during those 1,260 days."
  • Revelation 12:6,14: And the woman fled into the wilderness, where God had prepared a place to give her care for 1,260 days. ... But she was given two wings like those of a great eagle. This allowed her to fly to a place prepared for her in the wilderness, where she would be cared for and protected from the dragon for a time, times, and half a time.
  • Revelation 13:5: Then the beast was allowed to speak great blasphemies against God. And he was given authority to do what he wanted for forty-two months.

(8) I heard what he said, but I did not understand what he meant. So I asked, "How will all this finally end, my lord?"

(9) But he said, "Go now, Daniel, for what I have said is for the time of the end.

(10) Many will be purified, cleansed, and refined by these trials. But the wicked will continue in their wickedness, and none of them will understand. Only those who are wise will know what it means.

• Revelation 22:11: Let the one who is doing wrong continue to do wrong; the one who is vile, continue to be vile; the one who is good, continue to do good; and the one who is holy, continue in holiness."

(11) "From the time the daily sacrifice is taken away and the *sacrilegious object that causes desecration is set up to be worshiped, there will be **1,290 days.

• *sacrilegious object:
• The “abomination” of Daniel 11:31 is past while the “abomination” of Daniel 12:11 is future.
• Matthew 24:15: "The time will come when you will see what Daniel the prophet spoke about: the sacrilegious object that causes desecration standing in the Holy Place" -- reader, pay attention!
• **1,290 days: Why the extra 30 days? We seem only able to speculate.
• The 11th verse reveals that Israel will have rebuilt the temple in Jerusalem and will have re-instituted Levitical order of sacrifice. When this is done, we know that Antichrist will exalt himself in their rebuilt temple and commit the abomination of desolation by causing the daily sacrifice to be taken away. This event will mark the beginning of the actual tribulation period, which we are told here will continue for 1,290 days. We know that Antichrist will continue for one thousand two hundred and sixty days. But here, thirty days are added to the tribulation period.
• Perhaps Antichrist will announce the termination of sacrifices and the setting up of the abomination 30 days before he carries out those acts. Another option is that there will be a 30-day period between the time when Antichrist abolishes the regular sacrifice and the time when he sets up the abomination of desolation. Another possibility is that the 30 days will extend beyond the last three and one-half years. It will include the cleansing of the temple and possibly the judgments of Israel and the nations that Christ will execute when He returns.

(12) And blessed are those who wait and remain until the end of the *1,335 days!

• *1,335 days: Why the extra 75 days more than 1,260 days or 45 days more that verse 11?

(13) "As for you, *go your way until the end. You will **rest, and then at the end of the days, you will ***rise again to receive the ****inheritance set aside for you."

• *go your way:
• What a way for a righteous man to come to the end of his ministry!
• The Lord then dismissed the aged prophet. He was to go his way to the end. The Lord appears to have been viewing Daniel's life in sequence. First he would rest, in death, then he would rise again (cf. verse 2), and then he would receive his reward from God (cf. verse 3). His resurrection and reward would occur at the end of the age, namely, at the end of the times of the Gentiles.
• Daniel's life is an inspired testimony to the way the godly man would strive to live, even to today. His life was recorded as an example by which all who would live godly lives after him could look to and find instruction. Daniel never lost his hope and never gave up on God.
• **rest: This refers to his death after which he will "rest" until the resurrection.
• ***rise again:
• Job knew that his Redeemer was alive and that after worms had banqueted on his body he knew that he would see God (Job 19:25-27).
• Christ declared that God was the God of the living and thus assures us that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are living (Matthew 22:32):
• 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.' So he is the God of the living, not the dead."
• Paul knew that he had a building eternal in the heavens (2 Corinthians 5:1) and triumphantly declared that death would be swallowed up (I Corinthians 15:52-55) in victory.
• ****inheritance set aside for you: 2 Timothy 4:7-8: I have fought a good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. And now the prize awaits me -- the crown of righteousness that the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on that great day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his glorious return.

Above image from www.truthnet.org/Daniel/Chapter12/

Above image from www.spokanebiblechurch.com/study/Bible%20Walk%20Through/Daniel-briefing.htm

Above image from www.thesecondcomingofchrist.org/dan12_timelines.htm

Above image from www.thesecondcomingofchrist.org/dan12_timelines.htm

NOTES:

• Unless otherwise noted, the scripture version used is the New Living Translation, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois.
• Disclaimer: Source material for this study has been gleaned from many different sources. If you want further study, I have attempted to acknowledge these sources at http://studyingdaniel.blogspot.com/2013/08/references-for-book-of-daniel.html
• Index to all our studies are at http://oakview-bible-fellowship.blogspot.com/

Daniel 11

Watch Chuck Missler's video on Daniel 11.

Background. In Daniel 10, the prophet Daniel asked God for information about the end time. In response, God sent an angel to Him and after battling some evil angelic forces, the angel finally came to Daniel. The angel proceeded to explain why he was late and then to answer his question.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee had this to say about Daniel 11: "This prophecy is rather complicated and goes into prophecy a little deeper than the average person likes to go into it. Most people seem to like the exciting, sensational part of prophecy, but they do not want to dig down into the Word of God to see what it really says. However, if you are one who enjoys a deep and detailed study of prophecy, you will be thrilled by this section of the remarkable Word of God."

Chapter 11 begins the prophetic portion of this last vision which God gave to Daniel, presenting a foreview of Gentile dominion from the “first year of Darius” unto the battle of Armageddon and the return of Messiah. The chapter closes with the prediction that this “wilful king” “shall come to his end, and none shall help him.” And, we know that it is the return of the Lord Jesus that will bring this to pass.

Chapter 11 is one of the most remarkable chapters in the Bible in that it records prophecy that, for the most part, has been fulfilled in detail. It foretells the struggle between the kings of Syria and the kings of Egypt which took place after Daniel's day. It is prophetically and historically fulfilled. These historic events are described in great detail and cover two or three hundred years of history. You can see that the prophecies here have been worked out exactly in the pattern of history. In fact, the long series of wars, strife, bloodshed, deceit, diplomacy and trickery depicted in Daniel 11 has been so minutely fulfilled that the critics have argued that it must have been written after the events described had actually happened. They argue that such a correct and complete history could never have been written beforehand. God knows the end from the beginning because He exists outside of time. Prophecy is simply history written in advance.

A few important and interesting dates in the time covered by Daniel 11:

• 560 BC: The temple of Artemis at Ephesus that we read about in Acts 19 is built.
• 539 B.C.: Daniel 11:1: Darius the Mede is ruling.
• 539 B.C.: Daniel 11:2: Cyrus the Great captured Babylon.
• 530 BC: Pythagoras, founder of modern Mathematics.
• 490 B.C.:
• The Battle of Marathon takes place as a Persian army of more than 20,000 men which is repulsed by 11,000 Greeks. 6,400 Persians are killed at a cost of 192 Athenian dead.
• The Persians lost seven ships to the Athenians. However, the Athenians realized that the Persian fleet could sail and attack the undefended city of Athens. Phidippides ran from Marathon to Athens to bring the news of victory and a warning of the approaching Persian ships. Phidippides' 26-mile run from Marathon to Athens, the first marathon ever, was successfully completed in about three hours. Phidippides died from exhaustion after fighting all day and completing the run. His last words before collapsing and dying in Athens are ("Rejoice, we are victorious"). However, he successfully warned the Athenians, and when the Persian fleet arrived at Athens, Athenian soldiers were ready to protect their land. Upon seeing the prepared Athenian army, the Persians turned and sailed back to Persia in defeat.
• 486-465 B.C.: Xerxes I (called Ahasuerus in the Book of Esther) ruled over Persia.
• 480 B.C.:
• The Battle of Thermopylae. 300 Spartans and 700 Thespians killed.
• Xerxes' Persian army exceeded 5 million men and a fleet of 1207 ships plus 3000 smaller vessels.
• The Persian fleet defeated by the Greeks.
• Athens, including the Parthenon, burned to the ground by Xerxes.
• 450 BC: Herodotus, the founder of non-theological history. Hippocrates, the founder of modern Medicine.
• 388 BC: Plato, a pupil of Socrates, founds his philosophical Academy, the first university
• 375 BC: Plato writes the "Republic"
• 367 BC: Aristotle enters the Academia of Plato.
• 344 BC: Philip II of Macedonia conquers Thessaly, Illyria, Epirus.
• 342 BC: Aristotle tutors Alexander.
• 336 B.C.:
• Daniel 11:3: Alexander the Great succeeds his father, Philip, king of Macedon, who was assassinated.
• Alexander the Great cuts the Gordian Knot that predicted that the one to untie the knot would rule the world.
• Alexander defeats King Darius III at Issus.
• 332 B.C.:
• Alexander the Great conquers Tyre and Gaza.
• Jerusalem instead opened its gates in surrender to Alexander, and according to Josephus, Alexander was shown the Book of Daniel's prophecy, presumably chapter 8, which described a mighty Greek king who would conquer the Persian Empire. He spared Jerusalem and pushed south into Egypt.
• 331 B.C.: Alexander enters Egypt and orders the building of the city Alexandria.
• 331 B.C.: Daniel 11:4: Alexander defeats Darius again and occupies Babylon ending the Persian Empire.
• 323 B.C.: Alexander the Great died in Babylon at age of 32.
• 300 BC: Euclid writes the Elements of Geometry.
• 250 BC: Archimedes.
• 270 B.C.: Ptolemy II in Egypt instigated a translation of the Hebrew Bible into the Greek, called the Septuagint (abbreviated as LXX). Most New Testament quotations of the Old Testament are from the LXX.
• 168 B.C.: Daniel 11:31: Under the reign of Antiochus IV of Syria, the second Temple is looted and Judaism is outlawed.
• 167 B.C.:
• Antiochus orders an altar to Zeus erected in the Temple (the abomination of desolation spoken of by Jesus).
• Mattathias, and his five sons John, Simon, Eleazar, Jonathan and Judah lead a rebellion against Antiochus - the Maccabean revolt.
• 164 B.C. (December 14): The Temple is liberated and rededicated (celebrated today as Hanukkah). The Maccabeans formed the Hasmonean dynasty and became kings and priests despite the fact that they were not of the proper line to hold these offices. The group who participated in the revolt became the Pharisees afterwards.
• 63 B.C.: The Hasmonean Jewish Kingdom comes to an end because of rivalry between the brothers Aristobulus II and Hyrcanus II, both of whom appeal to the Roman Republic to intervene and settle the power struggle on their behalf. The Roman general Pompey the Great is dispatched to the area. 12,000 Jews are massacred as Romans enter Jerusalem. The Priests of the Temple are struck down at the Altar. Rome annexes Judea.
• 44 B.C.: Julius Caesar assassinated.
• 36 B.C.: Marc Anthony and Cleopatra VII are married.
• 30 B.C.: Cleopatra VII commits suicide. Egypt is added to the Roman empire.

The above time line chart is from www.neverthirsty.org/pp/bible-studies/daniel/study018/page01-persian-empire-and-alexander-the-great.html


Above image from www.historyofmacedonia.org/AncientMacedonia/AlexandertheGreat.html


Above chart from www.thesecondcomingofchrist.org/dan11_timelines.htm

The following time line charts are from www.neverthirsty.org/pp/bible-studies/daniel/study018/page01-persian-empire-and-alexander-the-great.html

Daniel 10:14,21: Now I am here to explain what will happen to your people in the future, for this vision concerns A TIME YET TO COME." ... But before I do that, I will tell you what is written in the *Book of Truth. (There is no one to help me against these spirit princes except Michael, your spirit prince.

• *Book of Truth: We learned in chapter 10 that there is in God’s library a book called The Book of Truth. We know of at least two other books: there is the scroll on which the events of the end time are recorded, which the Lamb takes from the hand of God, the Father, (Revelation 5:1,7) and there is The Book of Life (Luke 10:20; Philippians 4:3; Revelation 3:5; 13:8; 17:8; 20:12,15; 21:27) in which the names of those who believe in Jesus Christ for salvation are written.

PERSIA

(1) I have been standing beside *Michael as his support and defense since the first year of the reign of Darius the Mede.)

• *Michael: Since Michael (Israel's spirit prince) was involved, the conflict must have concerned the Jewish people. The conflict probably involved Cyrus' decree to allow the Jews to return to the land of Israel. Cyrus released the Jews, but unknown to the Persian king, angelic forces played a part in that decision.

(2) "Now then, I will reveal the truth to you. *Three more Persian kings will reign, to be succeeded by a **fourth, far richer than the others. Using his wealth for political advantage, he will stir up everyone to war against the kingdom of Greece.

• *Three more: Cambyses, Pseudo-Smerdis and Darius Hystaspes, called by Ezra Ahasuerus, Artaxerxes and Darius I.
• **fourth: The fourth which was to be “far richer than them all” was Xerxes I (486-465 B.C.), called Ahasuerus in the Book of Esther. A proud, self-willed monarch, he invaded Greece with his army of two million (according to Herodotus) when Persian power was at its height. After his defeat, the kings who succeeded him decreased in power and are not mentioned here. Then, Alexander the Great took the center of the world's stage. Hence the prophecy of verses 3 and 4.

ALEXANDER THE GREAT

(3) "Then a *mighty king will rise to power who will rule a vast kingdom and accomplish everything he sets out to do.

• *mighty king: This mighty king was Alexander the Great, the "male goat" in chapter 8, who, after a successful career and after conquering the world, suddenly died, and his kingdom was divided into four parts under four generals (the four horns in Daniel 8:8). He is referred to here, as also in chapter eight, because the Antichrist will arise out of the part of the Roman Empire over which Alexander ruled.
• A letter Alexander wrote to justify his invasion sent to the Darius who ruled Persia at that time has been preserved. According to Barnes’ Notes, it reads: “Your ancestors entered into Macedonia, and the other parts of Greece, and did us damage, when they had received no affront from us as the cause of it; and now I, created general of the Grecians, provoked by you, and desirous of avenging the injury done by the Persians, have passed over into Asia.”

(4) But at the height of his power, his kingdom will be broken apart and divided into *four parts. It will not be ruled by the **king's descendants, nor will the kingdom hold the authority it once had. For his empire will be uprooted and given to others.

• *four parts: When Alexander died, his generals partioned the empire into four parts.
• Daniel 7:6: Then the third of these strange beasts appeared, and it looked like a leopard. It had four wings like birds' wings on its back, and it had four heads. Great authority was given to this beast.
• Daniel 8:8: The goat became very powerful. But at the height of its power, its large horn was broken off. In the large horn's place grew four prominent horns pointing in the four directions of the earth.
• **king's descendants: Alexander's sons were murdered and so no part of his territory went to his "descendants."

In verses 5-35 we have an account of what is known in history as the wars of the Ptolemies, kings of Egypt, against the kings of Syria, a long series of conflicts covering a period of 120 years, with the land of Israel caught in the middle.

(5) "The *king of the south will increase in power, but one of this king's own officials will become more powerful than he and will rule his kingdom with great strength.

• *king of the south refers to the Kings of Egypt. “The king of the south” here was Ptolemy Soter; one of his officials was Seleucus I.

SYRIA vs. EGYPT (PTOLEMIES & SELEUCIDS)

(6) "*Some years later, an alliance will be formed between the **king of the north and the king of the south. The daughter of the king of the south will be given in marriage to the king of the north to secure the alliance, but she will lose her influence over him, and so will her father. She will be given up along with her supporters.

• *Some years later: After the death of the antagonists in verse 5, in 250 B.C. Antiochus II Theos and Ptolemy II Philadelphus agreed to a peace treaty by an arranged marriage.
• **king of the north refers to the kings of Syria.
• The prediction of verse 6 was fulfilled in the marriage of Berenice; daughter of Ptolemy II Philadelphus, to Antiochus Theos, third king of Syria.
• Antiochus, in order to marry Berenice, divorced his wife, Laodice, and disinherited her son. But the marriage of Berenice to Syria's king failed to bring about peace. Ptolemy, king of Egypt; died, whereupon Antiochus, king of Syria, took back his former wife, Laodice. She, in turn, poisoned him, and put to death Berenice and her son. Laodice then placed her own son, Seleucus Nicator, upon the throne.

(7) But when one of her relatives becomes king of the south, he will raise an army and enter the fortress of the king of the north and defeat him.

• Verses 7-9 tell us how the brother of Berenice, “one of her relatives,” invaded Syria, 245 B.C., to avenge the murder of his sister, Bernice. That brother was Ptolemy Euergetes, the next king of Egypt.

(8) When he returns again to Egypt, he will carry back their idols with him, along with priceless gold and silver dishes. For some years afterward he will leave the king of the north alone.

• Berenice's brother, Ptolemy Euergetes, invaded Syria, even to the Euphrates, killed Laodice, and returned to Egypt with 40,000 talents of silver, precious vessels and 2400 images, including Egyptian idols.

(9) "Later the king of the north will invade the realm of the king of the south but will soon return to his own land.

The Wars of Antiochus III the Great, the Father of Antiochus IV Epiphanes

(10) However, the sons of the king of the north will assemble a mighty army that will advance like a flood and carry the battle as far as the enemy's fortress.

• In fulfillment of the latter part of verse 10, Antiochus III the Great, after 27 years conquered the territory of Syria, as far as Gaza, including Judea. But the young Egyptian king, now Ptolemy IV (Philopater) with an army of 20,000 inflicted severe defeat on Antiochus the Great (verses 11-12).

(11) Then the king of the south, in great anger, will rally against the vast forces assembled by the king of the north and will defeat them.

• Upon the death of his father, and later upon the death of his brother, Antiochus the Great regained all the land of Syria that had been subjugated by Ptolemy Euergetes. Then “the king of the south,” Ptolemy Philopater, "in great anger" (verse 11) moved against Antiochus, slew 10,000 of Syria's army and took 4,000 captives. This king of Egypt had previously killed his own father, mother and brother; was filled with pride (verse 12).

(12) After the enemy army is swept away, the king of the south will be filled with pride and will have many thousands of his enemies killed. But his success will be short lived.

(13) "A few years later, the king of the north will return with a fully equipped army far greater than the one he lost.

• During 212-205 B.C. Antiochus III greatly expanded his empire into the Caspian Sea and to the border of India. That is the reason he is called Antiochus III The Great. But Antiochus had avoided Egypt until he heard that the thirty-five year old Ptolemy IV Philopator and his wife had died and a four year boy, Ptolemy V Epiphanes, was the new king.

(14) At that time there will be a general uprising against the king of the south. Lawless ones among your own people will join them in order to fulfill the vision, but they will not succeed.

• Antiochus then made a treaty allying Philip of Macedonia with him, and others, against Egypt, and they wrested Phoenicia and southern Syria from the king of the south.
• The lawless ones of Daniel's people (verse 14) were “factious Jews” who rebelled against Ptolemy, joining themselves to Antiochus, hoping thereby to gain independence for the Jews. In so doing, they established, or fulfilled, the vision given to Daniel; yet their efforts did not succeed (verse14).

(15) Then the king of the north will come and lay siege to a fortified city and capture it. The best troops of the south will not be able to stand in the face of the onslaught.

• Egypt was defeated. It was a crushing loss because the Egyptian commander Scopas was the best general Egypt had, and the troops he led were Egypt’s elite.

(16) "The king of the north will march onward unopposed; none will be able to stop him. He will pause in the glorious land of Israel, intent on destroying it.

• Antiochus the Great besieged and took Sidon from Egypt, ruined the interests of Egypt in Judea at the Battle of Mount Panium, 198 B.C., and then Antiochus took possession of Judea.
• After Scopas surrendered at Sidon, Antiochus III was welcomed by the Jews in Jerusalem. The Jews were glad to be free of the Egyptians. The Seleucid Empire would keep control of the land of Israel until the Romans came in 146 B.C.

(17) He will make plans to come with the might of his entire kingdom and will form an alliance with the king of the south. He will give him a *daughter in marriage in order to overthrow the kingdom from within, but his plan will fail.

• *daughter: Antiochus the Great gave his 11 year old daughter, Cleopatra I,  in marriage to Ptolemy Epiphanes, the king of Egypt, against whom he had fought for a long time, promising Judea and other lands as a dowry. By this scheme, he hoped to hold a neutral position in the war with Rome, securing also much territory. But his plan failed.

(18) "After this, he will turn his attention to the coastal cities and conquer many. But a commander from another land will put an end to his insolence and will cause him to retreat in shame.

• Antiochus turned his attention in another direction and tried to conquer, 197 to 196 B.C., the islands and coasts of Asia Minor. But the Roman general, Lucius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus, utterly defeated him at the Battle of Magnesia, 190 B.C.  Rome demanded payment for the expense of defeating him, and Antiochus fled to Elymias.
• Then Antiochus turned his attention to the coastal cities (verse 18) and took many of the islands of Greece in the Aegean Sea in his war with the Romans. But, Lucius Scipio Asiaticus, a Roman general, forced Antiochus to relinquish much of his territory and defray the expenses of the war.

(19) He will take refuge in his own fortresses but will stumble and fall, and he will be seen no more.

• Antiochus turned “his face toward his own fortresses ” (verse 19). Attempting to plunder the temple of Jupiter at Elymais by night, whether through avarice, or the want of money to pay the tribute imposed by Rome (a thousand talents), he was slain with his soldiers in an insurrection of the inhabitants. Then were fulfilled the closing words of the prophecy of verse 19, “. . . will stumble and fall, and he will be seen no more”.

(20) "His successor will be remembered as the king who sent a tax collector to maintain the royal splendor, but after a very brief reign, he will die, though neither in battle nor open conflict.

• When we come to verse 20, Ptolemy V Epiphanes is dead. Ptolemy VI Philometor is pharaoh in Egypt. Cleopatra is the queen mother. Antiochus III The Great is dead also, and Seleucus IV Philopator is king over the Seleucid Empire. Seleucus IV inherited a great debt that his father did not pay to Rome for his failed invasion. So he “imposes taxes” to pay off the debt to Rome and sent his prime minister, Heriodorus, to Palestine - “the glorious kingdom” - to collect taxes. Seleucus IV died due to poisoning after a reign of only eleven years - “within a few days he shall be destroyed.”
• The “raiser of taxes” was the son of Antiochus the Great, who ruled Syria after his father had been slain. His name was Seleucus Philopater; he it was who was compelled by Rome to raise taxes for tribute (verse 20). He caused the temple in Jerusalem to be plundered; was betrayed and poisoned by the very man whom he had used to perform this sacrilege; and was succeeded to the throne of Syria by his brother, the “despicable man” described in verses 21-35 of our chapter, as well as in chapter eight of Daniel's prophecy. Thus it came to pass that “within few days” Seleucus died “neither in battle nor open conflict. The “brief reign” were really twelve years, but “brief” when compared with the thirty-seven years of his father's reign.

The Wars of Antiochus IV Epiphanes—That “despicable man” in verse 21.

From verses 21-35 the vision describes Syria's wicked, blasphemous king, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, that “despicable man,” of whom we read in chapter eight, in which he was called “a small horn” (8:9). There the record is given of his defilement of the Jewish sanctuary when he offered a sow upon the sacred altar and erected a temple to Jupiter. In our study of this earlier chapter, we saw that God gave Daniel a detailed description of Antiochus Epiphanes because he is a type of the Antichrist who is to come. “The beast,” too, will defile the sanctuary, setting up his own image to be worshipped, and persecuting to death all who refuse to give him divine honors.

(21) "The next to come to power will be a *despicable man who is not directly in line for royal succession. But he will slip in **when least expected and take over the kingdom by ***flattery and intrigue.

• *despicable man (vile person in the KJV): Antiochus IV Epiphanes (175 B.C. - 163 B.C). He is the "small horn" of chapter 8:
• Daniel 8:9-12:  From one of the prominent horns came a small horn whose power grew very great. It extended toward the south and the east and toward the glorious land of Israel. His power reached to the heavens where it attacked the heavenly armies, throwing some of the heavenly beings and stars to the ground and trampling them. He even challenged the Commander of heaven's armies by canceling the daily sacrifices offered to him and by destroying his Temple. But the army of heaven was restrained from destroying him for this sin. As a result, sacrilege was committed against the Temple ceremonies, and truth was overthrown. The horn succeeded in everything it did.
• Daniel 8:23-25: "At the end of their rule, when their sin is at its height, a fierce king, a master of intrigue, will rise to power. He will become very strong, but not by his own power. He will cause a shocking amount of destruction and succeed in everything he does. He will destroy powerful leaders and devastate the holy people. He will be a master of deception, defeating many by catching them off guard. Without warning he will destroy them. He will even take on the Prince of princes in battle, but he will be broken, though not by human power.
• **when least expected: Just as Anti-Christ will appear unexpectedly and take over.
• By ***flattery and intrigue, he had taken the throne from the son of his deceased brother, who was the rightful heir. He was not directly in line for royal succession.

(22) Before him great armies will be swept away, including a *covenant prince.

• *covenant prince does not refer to Christ. This was the attempt of Antiochus to replace the Jewish high priest by another who would be subservient to him.

(23) By making deceitful promises, he will make various alliances. With a mere handful of followers, he will become strong.

• After various alliances made with him, Antiochus with deceitful promises, took with him a mere handful of followers at first, in order to escape suspicion.

(24) Without warning he will enter the richest areas of the land and do something that none of his predecessors ever did -- distribute among his followers the plunder and wealth of the rich. He will plot the overthrow of strongholds, but this will last for only a short while.

• He entered without warning the richest areas of the land, doing that which his predecessors had not done (verse 24). In other words, he took possession of Memphis and all Egypt as far as Alexandria, something which the former kings of Syria had sought to do in vain. Then were fulfilled, in part, the words of the latter portion of verse 24.

(25) "Then he will stir up his courage and raise a great army against the king of the south. The king of the south will go to battle with a mighty army, but to no avail, for plots against him will succeed.

• In verse 25, we read of the expedition of Antiochus into Egypt in 171 B.C., against “the king of the south,” or Ptolemy Philometer.

(26) Those of his own household will bring his downfall. His army will be swept away, and many will be killed.

• Ptolemy Philometor, king of the south, was defeated through the treachery of his own officers and was outwitted by Antiochus.

(27) Seeking nothing but each other's harm, these kings will plot against each other at the conference table, attempting to deceive each other. But it will make no difference, for an end will still come AT THE APPOINTED TIME.

(28) "The king of the north will then return home with great riches. On the way he will set himself against the people of the holy covenant, doing much damage before continuing his journey.

• History records that when Antiochus returned to Syria, he crushed a revolt in Jerusalem in support of Menelaus, the high priest. The high priest was his supporter.
• At this time that "despicable person” “attacked Jerusalem . . . slew 80,000, took 40,000 prisoners, and sold 40,000 as slaves . . . entered the sanctuary with blasphemies, took away the gold and silver vessels, sacrificed swine on the altar, and sprinkled broth of the flesh through the temple” (II Maccabees 5:15-21).

(29) "Then AT THE APPOINTED TIME he will once again invade the south, but this time the result will be different.

(30) For *warships from western coastlands will scare him off, and he will withdraw and return home. But he will vent his anger against the people of the holy covenant and reward those who forsake the covenant.

• *warships: The Roman fleet had to come to Alexandria at the request of the Ptolemies. Several early historians tell the story of the defeat of Antiochus IV, stating that the Roman commander met Antiochus IV outside Alexandria and handed him a letter from the Roman senate telling him to leave Egypt or risk war with Rome. Next, the Roman commander drew a circle around Antiochus and told him to decide before he left the circle. Furious, Antiochus left Egypt and took out his fury on Jerusalem on his way back from Egypt.

ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION - THE SACRILEGIOUS OBJECT IN THE TEMPLE

(31) His army will take over the Temple fortress, polluting the sanctuary, putting a stop to the daily sacrifices, and setting up the *sacrilegious object that causes desecration.

• Encyclopedia Britannica: “Antiochus’ hellenizing policies brought him into conflict with the Jews. Since Antiochus III’s reign, the Jews had enjoyed extensive autonomy under their high priest. They were divided into two parties, the orthodox Hasideans (Pious Ones) and a reform party that favored Hellenism. For financial reasons, Antiochus supported the reform party and, in return for a considerable sum, permitted the high priest, Jason, to build a gymnasium in Jerusalem and to introduce the Greek mode of educating young people. In 172, for an even bigger tribute, he appointed Menelaus in place of Jason. In 169, however, while Antiochus was campaigning in Egypt, Jason conquered Jerusalem - with the exception of the citadel - and murdered many adherents of his rival Menelaus. When Antiochus returned from Egypt in 167, he took Jerusalem by storm and enforced its Hellenization. The city forfeited its privileges and was permanently garrisoned by Syrian soldiers.”
• In his wrath, in 167 B.C., he turned once more against the Jews, for he was indignant that meantime God's worship had been restored at Jerusalem. Apostate Israelites who ”forsook the covenant” helped him. In his rage, both against Rome and against the Jews, he sent an army of 22,000 men to destroy Jerusalem. Multitudes were slain; the city was pillaged; and all the Jews were told to worship the heathen god, Jupiter, on pain of death if they refused obedience. What a picture of the coming “man of sin”!
• *sacrilegious object (abomination of desolation) also found in:
• Daniel 9:27: He will make a treaty with the people for a period of one set of seven, but after half this time, he will put an end to the sacrifices and offerings. Then as a climax to all his terrible deeds, he will set up a sacrilegious object that causes desecration, until the end that has been decreed is poured out on this defiler."
• Daniel 12:11: "From the time the daily sacrifice is taken away and the sacrilegious object that causes desecration is set up to be worshiped, there will be 1,290 days.
• 1 Maccabees 1:54: Now the fifteenth day of the month Casleu, in the hundred forty and fifth year, they set up the abomination of desolation upon the altar, and builded idol altars throughout the cities of Juda on every side;
• 1 Maccabees 6:7: Also that they had pulled down the abomination, which he had set up upon the altar in Jerusalem, and that they had compassed about the sanctuary with high walls, as before, and his city Bethsura.
• 2 Maccabees 6:1–11: Not long after this the king sent an Athenian senator to force the Jews to abandon the customs of their ancestors and live no longer by the laws of God; also to profane the temple in Jerusalem and dedicate it to Olympian Zeus, and that on Mount Gerizim to Zeus the Hospitable, as the inhabitants of the place requested...They also brought into the temple things that were forbidden, so that the altar was covered with abominable offerings prohibited by the laws. A man could not keep the sabbath or celebrate the traditional feasts, nor even admit that he was a Jew. At the suggestion of the citizens of Ptolemais, a decree was issued ordering the neighboring Greek cities to act in the same way against the Jews: oblige them to partake of the sacrifices, and put to death those who would not consent to adopt the customs of the Greeks. It was obvious, therefore, that disaster impended. Thus, two women who were arrested for having circumcised their children were publicly paraded about the city with their babies hanging at their breasts and then thrown down from the top of the city wall. Others, who had assembled in nearby caves to observe the sabbath in secret, were betrayed to Philip and all burned to death.
• Matthew 24:15-16: "The time will come when you will see what Daniel the prophet spoke about: the sacrilegious object that causes desecration standing in the Holy Place" -- reader, pay attention! "Then those in Judea must flee to the hills.
• Mark 13:14: 14: "The time will come when you will see the sacrilegious object that causes desecration standing where it should not be" -- reader, pay attention! "Then those in Judea must flee to the hills.
• While this happened in the past, the Anti-Christ will repeat this blasphemy, as prophesied by Jesus.

MACCABEAN REVOLT, CLEANSING OF THE TEMPLE, HANAKKUH

(32) He will flatter those who have violated the covenant and win them over to his side. But the people who know their God will be strong and will resist him.

• There is always a faithful remnant in Israel; and the days of Antiochus Epiphanes were no exception. The Maccabees were true to the God of their fathers.

(33) "Those who are wise will give instruction to many. But for a time many of these teachers will die by fire and sword, or they will be jailed and robbed.

• Much has been said about the power of one. One person can make a difference. When the entire Syrian empire was against Jerusalem, one man, Judas Maccabeus, rallied an army of God-fearing Jews who were willing to die for a righteous cause - defending all that is holy from a tyrant. The Maccabean revolt is a historical phenomenon, a glorious example of men of clear understanding standing up and speaking out. Now, more than ever, righteous men must be heard, even if they must die for the cause.

(34) While all these persecutions are going on, a *little help will arrive, though many who join them will ***not be sincere.

• *little help: The faithful remnant was successful in opposing Antiochus under the leadership of Judas Maccabeus, when the sanctuary was cleansed (cf. Daniel 8:13-14)
• ***not be sincere: Just as today, many in the pulpits are deceitful and not only not Christians, but actually deny Christ and deny the Bible.

BEGINNING OF THE 70TH WEEK - THE APPOINTED TIME

(35) And some who are wise will fall victim to persecution. In this way, they will be refined and cleansed and made pure until the time of the end, for the *APPOINTED TIME is still to come.

• Here begins a passage that deals with that seventieth week of Daniel that is yet to be fulfilled -- the time of the end, the last days, the ultimate arrangement of earth's kingdoms just before the return of Jesus Christ. This remarkable passage predicts an invasion of the land of Israel from the north and the south, and then the meeting of two great armies in the land of Israel and the ultimate destruction of those armies there on the mountains of Israel. This is also clearly described in the thirty-eighth and thirty-ninth chapters of Ezekiel and the second chapter of Joel.
• *APPOINTED TIME is still to come: the last words of Verse 35 seem to suggest a leap of time that will carry us from these days in the past, to the "last days," to the time in the future when this shall again be fulfilled in a greater way. Then, beginning with Verse 36, we have the last section of this chapter. There we have a clear picture of the false prophet, the false Messiah, who is accepted by the Jews as a Messiah and who erects the abomination of desolation for the last and final time in a temple that is yet to be rebuilt in the city of Jerusalem.

ANTI-CHRIST and THE END-TIMES

Some scholars believe the following verses refer to Antiochus, but much of it is not true of him. Some believe the verses refer to Nero, but some of it does not fit. Both are types of Anti-Christ and there have been many other candidates Satan has brought forth over the ages including Charlemagne, some of the popes, Hitler and Stalin. The real Anti-Christ is yet to be revealed. The ten-horned Beast of Revelation 13:1-10 and the one called 666 in Revelation 13:10 is also the one who is the final "King of the North." Hence there is a future King of the North.

(36) "The king will do as he pleases, exalting himself and claiming to be greater than every god there is, even blaspheming the God of gods. He will succeed -- until the *time of wrath is completed. For what has been determined will surely take place.

• The king of verse 36 is the last great enemy of God and Israel, the Antichrist. The prophecy given to Daniel jumps over the present Church age in which we now live and which has already run its course for more than 2000 years during which time God has been “calling out” a people for His own name.
• The Jews and the world at large rejected the true Christ, the true King, who came to them in God’s name. They will accept the Antichrist who will come in his own name (John 5:43).
• *time of wrath is completed: the phrase "is completed" refers to the end of the 70 "weeks" and the Great Tribulation.

(37) He will have no regard for the gods of his ancestors, or for the god beloved of women, or for any other god, for he will boast that he is greater than them all.

• In 2 Thessalonians 2:34, we read how the Antichrist will oppose and He will exalt himself and defy every god there is and tear down every object of adoration and worship. He will position himself in the temple of God, claiming that he himself is God.

(38) Instead of these, he will worship *the god of fortresses -- a god his ancestors never knew -- and lavish on him gold, silver, precious stones, and costly gifts.

• *the god of fortresses: Satan. Revelation tells us ‘the dragon (Satan) gave the beast (Antichrist) his power and his throne and great authority.’

(39) Claiming this foreign god's help, he will attack the strongest fortresses. He will honor those who submit to him, appointing them to positions of authority and *dividing the land among them as their reward.

• *dividing the land: It's already been divided up with the Palestinians and is to be even further divided up. The USA, the EU and the UN seem intent on doing exactly this.

THE FINAL WORLD WAR ERUPTS

(40) "Then AT THE *TIME OF THE END, the king of the south will attack him, and the king of the north will storm out against him with chariots, cavalry, and a vast navy. He will invade various lands and sweep through them like a flood.

• *THE TIME OF THE END is the midpoint of the tribulation period prior to 12:1.
• Some feel the battle referenced here is corresponds to Ezekiel 38-39, the conflict with Gog and Magog.  In Ezekiel 38-39, an end time battle, after Israel is gathered out of the nations after a long period of absence.
• Ezekiel 38:8: A long time from now you will be called into action. In the distant future you will swoop down on the land of Israel, which will be lying in peace after her recovery from war and after the return of her people from many lands.
• Ezekiel 38:5-6: Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya will join you, too, with all their weapons. Gomer and all its hordes will also join you, along with the armies of Beth-togarmah from the distant north and many others.
• Ezekiel 38:17: This is what the Sovereign LORD says: You are the one I was talking about long ago, when I announced through Israel's prophets that in future days I would bring you against my people.
• Ezekiel 39:9: "Then the people in the towns of Israel will go out and pick up your small and large shields, bows and arrows, javelins and spears, and they will use them for fuel. There will be enough to last them seven years!
• Revelation 13:8: And all the people who belong to this world worshiped the beast. They are the ones whose names were not written in the Book of Life, which belongs to the Lamb who was killed before the world was made.

(41) He will enter the glorious land of Israel, and many nations will fall, but Moab, Edom, and the best part of *Ammon will escape.

• *Ammon is modern-day Jordan and includes Moab and Edom. There is an interesting cross-reference in Revelation 12 to this idea of Jordan being a place-of-refuge for the Israelites during the tribulation.

(42) He will conquer many countries, and Egypt will not escape.

(43) He will gain control over the gold, silver, and treasures of Egypt, and the Libyans and Ethiopians will be his servants.

(44) "But then news from the *east and the **north will alarm him, and he will set out in great anger to destroy many as he goes.

• *east: What's east of Israel? Much of the Muslim world including Iran which wants to wipe Israel off the map and further east is China. Revelation 16:12: Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great Euphrates River, and it dried up so that the kings from the east could march their armies westward without hindrance.
• **north: What's north of Israel? Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Europe, Russia.

(45) He will halt between the glorious holy mountain and the sea and will pitch his royal tents there, but while he is there, his time will suddenly run out, and there will be no one to help him.

• Megiddo or Armageddon is the place at which the hosts of hell, led by Satan and his Antichrist will finally gather (Revelation 16:16). Both Jerusalem with the valley of Jehoshaphat and Megiddo with its valley of Jezreel are truly “between the glorious holy mountain and the sea.”
• What a remarkable account! Here we have traced the final conflict, which is called, in the book of Revelation, the campaign of Armageddon.
• Antiochus Epiphanes hated and persecuted the Jews, trying to destroy every trace of Judaism and worship of the true God. The Popes and the Roman church in the Middle Ages hated and persecuted the Jews and tried to destroy every trace of the Jews. Hitler hated and persecuted the Jews and tried to destroy every trace of the Jews. In killing over 6 million Jews, he got one third of the way to achieving his satanic goal. Yet, as bad as these men were, they are still only smaller glimpses of the coming world leader. Both Daniel and Jesus stated that this period of time will involve distress and tribulation on a scale that had never been experienced before. Zechariah states that during this time two thirds of the Jews will be killed. (Zechariah 13:8). And yet this coming world leader is only given power for a limited time and the real King of kings will return and setup his kingdom.

Daniel 12:1-3: "At that time Michael, the archangel who stands guard over your nation, will arise. Then there will be a time of anguish greater than any since nations first came into existence. But at that time every one of your people whose name is written in the book will be rescued. Many of those whose bodies lie dead and buried will rise up, some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise will shine as bright as the sky, and those who turn many to righteousness will shine like stars forever.

NOTES:

• Unless otherwise noted, the scripture version used is the New Living Translation, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois.
• Disclaimer: Source material for this study has been gleaned from many different sources. If you want further study, I have attempted to acknowledge these sources at http://studyingdaniel.blogspot.com/2013/08/references-for-book-of-daniel.html
• Index to all our studies are at http://oakview-bible-fellowship.blogspot.com/

Daniel 9 - The Seventy Weeks

Watch Chuck Missler's "Daniel's 70 Weeks DVD" or the YouTube videos:

• Chuck Missler - Daniel Session 10 - (Ch 9A) The 69 Weeks (video): www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiAJ71MhrDY
• Chuck Missler - Daniel Session 11 - (Ch 9B) The 70Th Week (video): www.youtube.com/watch?v=lshj22lSDZo

Summary of Daniel 9:24-26:

1. There would be a decree to rebuild Jerusalem.
2. Jerusalem and the Temple would be rebuilt.
3. Then Messiah would be "cut off" (an idiom for "rejected" or "killed").
4. Then Jerusalem and the Temple would be destroyed again.
5. All of these events later happened, in the same order in which they are described in Daniel 9:24-26

The “70 Weeks” of Daniel:

• The Scope 9:24
• The 69 Weeks 9:25
• (The Interval) 9:26
• The 70th Week 9:27

This Vision of the "Seventy Weeks" is the most important revelation in many respects made in the Scriptures. It set the date of the First Coming of Christ, and gives the length of the reign of Antichrist. Daniel Is The Key That Unlocks The Timeline Of Revelation!

Bible Studies in the Book of Daniel by Ray Stedman: www.raystedman.org/old-testament/daniel: "In the seventeenth century, a very learned Jew published a book in which he set forth the claims of Jesus Christ to be the Jewish Messiah. In the preface to the book, he told how he himself had been converted by listening to a debate between a knowledgeable Jew and a Christian convert from Judaism over the meaning of this passage in Daniel 9. The moderator of the debate was a learned rabbi, and as the Christian pressed the claims of this passage home it became so clear that the passage was pointing to Jesus Christ that the rabbi closed the debate with these words: "Let us shut up our books, for if we go on examining the prophecy we shall all become Christians."

Clarence Larkin in "The Book of Daniel": "From this we see that Daniel's seventieth week (Daniel 9:24-27), Jesus' Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24) and John's seals, trumpets, and vials (Revelation 6:1 to 18:24) cover the same period, and are Jewish and have no reference to the Christian Church. Daniel draws the outline in his seventieth week, Jesus roughs in the picture in His Olivet Discourse, and John fills in the details in the book of Revelation."

Matthew 24:15-22: "The time will come when you will see what Daniel the prophet spoke about: the sacrilegious object that causes desecration standing in the Holy Place" - reader, pay attention! "Then those in Judea must flee to the hills. A person outside the house must not go inside to pack. A person in the field must not return even to get a coat. How terrible it will be for pregnant women and for mothers nursing their babies in those days. And pray that your flight will not be in winter or on the Sabbath. For that will be a time of greater horror than anything the world has ever seen or will ever see again. In fact, unless that time of calamity is shortened, the entire human race will be destroyed. But it will be shortened for the sake of God's chosen ones

Jesus in Matthew 24 highlighted this very passage in Daniel as THE KEY TO PROPHECY. He authenticates Daniel as a prophet, and the author of this book! He also holds us responsible to understand this passage. [Note its Jewishness: “In Judea… not on the Sabbath.”

Above image from The Glorious Battle - Roadmap to Armageddon"

Above image from Daniel 9:The Prophetic Timeline

(1) It was the first year of the reign of *Darius the Mede, the son of Ahasuerus, who became king of the Babylonians.

• *Darius: So, this vision, unlike the one in chapter 8, came to Daniel after the Babylonians had been conquered by the Medo-Persians.

(2) During the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, was studying the writings of the prophets. I learned from the *word of the LORD, as recorded by **Jeremiah the prophet, that Jerusalem must lie desolate for ***seventy years.

• *word of the Lord: We don't know how many books of the Old Testament were in Daniel's possession, but we can assume he had the Torah in addition to Jeremiah's book. Daniel's statement confirms that Jeremiah's book is part of the "word of the Lord.
• **Jeremiah:
  • Jeremiah 25:11-12: This entire land will become a desolate wasteland. Israel and her neighboring lands will serve the king of Babylon for SEVENTY YEARS. "Then, AFTER the SEVENTY YEARS of captivity are over, I will punish the king of Babylon and his people for their sins, says the LORD. I will make the country of the Babylonians an everlasting wasteland.
  • Jeremiah 29:10: "The truth is that you will be in Babylon for SEVENTY YEARS. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will BRING YOU HOME AGAIN.
• ***seventy years:
• Daniel must have gasped as he realized that the seventy years of desolation was nearly over and the realization sent him to his knees in prayer and fasting! Now that the seventy years is nearly up, Daniel is asking God "How much longer?" As it turns out, he had less than a year to wait until Cyrus II gave the decree allowing the people of Judah to return to Jerusalem. But, he's going to have revealed directly to him not only the 70 weeks, but another time period of seven times seventy (490) years in the future for the Messiah to present Himself as king to Jerusalem in verse 24!
• The Lord stated through the prophet Jeremiah, as recorded in this passage, that Israel’s captivity would last 70 years to make up for all the land Sabbaths that she did not observe. Knowing that the land Sabbaths occurred every 7 years, this means that there was a span of 490 years of disobedience.

(3) So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in *prayer and fasting. I wore rough **sackcloth and sprinkled myself with ashes.

• *prayer:
• Before the significant 70 weeks prophecy was given to Daniel, he was in prayer and in the Word.
• Prayer is not not talking God into doing what He does not want to do; it is finding the will of God and praying for God to do what (or according to what) he revealed. 
• We did a study on prayer in 2006 and it's on our blog at: http://prayer-dt.blogspot.com/
• **sackcloth and ashes: This is a representation of mourning. Biblically, there are four reasons that people mourned: their sin, the sin of others, death and because of the withdrawal of God’s presence. From the context of Daniel’s prayer, we know that he is mourning the sin of Israel.

(4) I *prayed to the LORD my God and **confessed: "O Lord, you are a great and awesome God! You always fulfill your promises of unfailing love to those who love you and keep your commands.

• *prayed: Notice the sequence of Daniel's prayer:
1. Attitude of penitence and worship - in humility and contrition.
2. Praise.
3. Recognition that God keeps His promises.
4. Repentance - admission of guilt.
5. Presentation of the problem.
6. Admission of not deserving of help.
7. The petition for help.
• **confessed: Instead of complaining, Daniel confessed.

(5) But *WE have sinned and done wrong. We have rebelled against you and scorned your commands and regulations.

• *WE: Daniel is including himself in Israel's sin. To emphasize, I capitalized WE, OUR and US in the following verses - note the frequency.

(6) WE have refused to listen to your servants the prophets, who spoke your messages to OUR kings and princes and ancestors and to all the people of the land.

(7) "Lord, you are in the right; but OUR faces are covered with shame, just as you see US now. This is true of US all, including the people of Judah and Jerusalem and *all Israel, scattered near and far, wherever you have driven US because of our disloyalty to you.

• *all Israel: Not just Judah, but ALL the tribes including the so-called lost ten tribes of Israel - who are now also returning to modern Israel.

(8) O LORD, WE and OUR kings, princes, and ancestors are covered with shame because WE have sinned against you.

(9) But the Lord OUR God is merciful and forgiving, even though WE have rebelled against him.

(10) WE have not obeyed the LORD OUR God, for WE have not followed the laws he gave US through his servants the prophets.

(11) All Israel has disobeyed your law and turned away, refusing to listen to your voice."So now the solemn curses and judgments written in the law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured out against US because of our sin.

• We find this oath in Leviticus 26:14-46. The Lord promised Israel exile for disobedience. In fact, the Lord even predicted the duration of Israel’s captivity in this passage.

(12) You have done exactly what you warned you would do against US and OUR rulers. Never in all history has there been a *disaster like the one that happened in Jerusalem.

• *disaster: An even greater disaster came in 70 AD.

(13) Every curse written against US in the law of Moses has come true. All the troubles he predicted have taken place. But WE have refused to seek mercy from the LORD OUR God by turning from OUR sins and recognizing his truth

(14) The LORD has brought against US the disaster he prepared, for WE did not obey him, and the LORD OUR God is just in everything he does.

(15) "O Lord OUR God, you brought lasting honor to your name by rescuing your people from Egypt in a great display of power. But WE have sinned and are full of wickedness.

(16) In view of all your faithful mercies, Lord, please turn your furious anger away from *your city of Jerusalem, your holy mountain. All the neighboring nations mock Jerusalem and your people because of OUR sins and the sins of OUR ancestors.

• *your city: The Hebrews were God’s people. The land of Canaan was God’s land. Jerusalem was God’s city. The Lord called the Hebrews “my people” and Jerusalem was the city of the Great King.

(17) "O our God, hear *your servant's prayer! Listen as I plead. For your own sake, Lord, smile again on your desolate sanctuary.

• *your servant: Only now does Daniel refer to himself individually.

(18) "O my God, listen to me and hear my request. Open your eyes and see OUR wretchedness. See how your city lies in ruins -- for everyone knows that it is yours. WE do not ask because WE deserve help, but because you are so merciful.

(19) "O Lord, hear. O Lord, forgive. O Lord, listen and act! For your own sake, O my God, do not delay, for your people and your city bear your name."

• He doesn’t say, "it's not our fault" or “we tried our best” or “we’ll do better next time” or “don’t you remember how great we were when we…”. He has one position that he consistently pleads to the Lord as a motivation for mercy. What is it and why does it turn the Lord’s heart? He begs the Lord to turn His hand for His sake and for the sake of His name. Israel, despite their sin, was called by the name of the Lord. They were His people. The nations looked at their plight and despised the name of their God, YHWH. Daniel begs the Lord for restoration so that the Lord would be shown as righteous and all powerful in the midst of the nations. There is no greater plea that a man can offer God, than that the Lord’s name be glorified. That was the sole purpose of Christ’s ministry and we know that He pleased the Father. If that becomes the true desire of our heart, we will see God move in a great way!

(20) I went on praying and *confessing my sin and the sins of my people, pleading with the LORD my God **for Jerusalem, his holy mountain.

• *confessing: Proverbs 28:13: People who cover over their sins will not prosper. But if they confess and forsake them, they will receive mercy.
• **for Jerusalem: His prayer was not for himself, but for God's Jerusalem.

(21) *As I was praying, **Gabriel, whom I had seen in the earlier vision, came swiftly to me ***at the time of the evening sacrifice.

• *As I was praying: Isaiah 65:24: I will answer them before they even call to me. While they are still talking to me about their needs, I will go ahead and answer their prayers!
• Sometimes when we think that the Lord doesn’t hear us, He does. We just need to wait upon His timing for the answer. I don’t believe it was that Gabriel took that long to get to Daniel, but that the Lord had a purpose in the timing for the response. He wanted Gabriel to arrive at the time of the evening sacrifice.
• **Gabriel: Angels inhabit every part of God’s universe - in another dimension.
• There are evil angels, (Ephesians 6:12, Matthew 25:41, Revelation 9:11);
• There are good angels (Luke 9:26, Acts 10:22, Revelation 14:10);
• There are guardian angels (Matthew 18:10, Psalm 34:7);
• There are chief angels, (here and in Daniel 10:13).
• ***at the time of the evening sacrifice: As a young man in Jerusalem, Daniel often saw the smoke rising from the temple at the time of the evening sacrifice. This was the time of the evening sacrifice, but the Temple was destroyed and sacrifices had ceased.
  • Ezra 9:5: At the time of the sacrifice, I stood up from where I had sat in mourning with my clothes torn. I fell to my knees, lifted my hands to the LORD my God.
  • This would be between three and four o'clock in the afternoon (the "ninth hour" in Acts). It was at the hour when Old Testament sacrifices were offered.
  • This was the same hour when Old Testament sacrifices were offered and when Jesus died upon the cross on the hill of Calvary outside of Jerusalem, the same hour that the veil in the temple was ripped in two: the holy of holies was no longer confined to a building (Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34).

(22) He explained to me, "Daniel, I have come here to give you insight and understanding.

(23) The moment you began praying, a command was given. I am here to tell you what it was, *for God loves you very much. Now listen, so you can understand the meaning of your vision.

• *for God loves you very much (greatly beloved by God in the KJV): It should be our desire to be greatly loved by God and to please Him.

(24) "A period of *seventy sets of even has been decreed for **your people and your holy city to put down rebellion, to ***bring an end to sin, to atone for guilt, to bring in ****everlasting righteousness, to confirm the prophetic vision, and to anoint the Most Holy Place.

• *seventy sets of seven: 7 X 70 = 490 years. Hebrew shib`iym shabuwa` (Genesis 29:27, et al.). Sabbath for the land ordained and failure to keep the sabbath of the land was the very basis for 70 years captivity (2 Chronicles 36:19-21).
• **your people and your holy city:
• The focus of the passage is on the Jews. It discloses the fact that the "Seventy Weeks" have nothing to do with the Gentiles or the Church. It also discloses another fact that the "Seventy Weeks, " or 490 years, only cover the period when the Jews are, by God's permission, dwelling as a people in their own land. It does not cover the present period of their Dispersion.
• "In 1656, a dispute occurred in Poland between some distinguished Jewish rabbis and Catholics respecting the 70 weeks. The rabbis were so hard pushed by the argument that proved Jesus to be the messiah, the time of his sufferings being at the end of the 70 weeks that they broke up the discussion. The rabbis then held a meeting and pronounced a curse upon any Jew who should attempt to ascertain the chronology of this prophetic period. Their anathema was this: 'May his bones and his memory rot who should attempt to number the 70 weeks'." THE MIDNIGHT CRY August 10, 1843.
• ***bring an end to sin: Literally means to make an end to sin offerings! The Lord made one offer for all of man’s sin, ending the need for any additional sacrifices. The purpose of the Old Testament sacrifices was to point the way to Jesus Christ. Once He died, they were no longer necessary. Men were to look to Jesus Himself for the forgiveness of sins. This is why the veil in the temple was torn in two by God at the death of Jesus.
• ****everlasting righteousness: The life and death of Jesus Christ confirmed the righteousness of God for all time. It also made possible the eternal righteousness of others.

(25) Now listen and understand! *Seven sets of seven plus **sixty-two sets of seven will pass from the time the command is given to rebuild Jerusalem until ***the Anointed One comes. Jerusalem will be rebuilt with streets and strong defenses, despite the perilous times.

• *Seven sets of seven = 49 years to the rebuilding of Jerusalem.
• **sixty-two sets of seven (62 x 7) = 434 years.
• 7 + 62  = 69 weeks of years = 483 years (49 + 434) until Messiah comes. Then another 7 weeks (years) yet to come in verse 27 for a total of 490 years.
• The Trigger (terminus ad quo): The Decrees to “Rebuild Jerusalem”:
  • 1) Issued by Cyrus, 537 B.C. Recorded in Ezra 1:2-4; 5:13-17; Isaiah 44:28, 45:1-4; 2 Chronicles 36:22-33. This decree was limited to the rebuilding of the Temple, the completion of which is recorded in Ezra 6. No mention is made of restoring and building the city and the wall.
  • 2) Issued by Darius 517 B.C. Recorded in Ezra 6:1-5, 8, 12. Here, Darius merely reaffirmed the proclamation of Cyrus with reference to the building of the Temple. Again, no mention is made of restoring and building the city and the wall.
  • 3) Issued by Artaxerxes, 458 B.C. Recorded in Ezra 7:11-26. This decree was just to send funds and goods for the rebuilding of the Temple, etc. Again, no mention is made of restoring and building the city and the wall.
  • 4) Issued by Artaxerxes, 445 B.C. Recorded in Nehemiah 2:5-8, 17, 18. This is the correct beginning point of the counting because here Artaxerxes gave Nehemiah permission to build "the wall of the city" and we learn in Nehemiah 6:15 that the wall was finished. From the time of the decree of Artaxerxes to the close of the Old Testament canon, which concluded with the prophecy of Malachi, covers "seven weeks," or seven sevens of years which total 49 years. Note: rehob, “street”; haruts, moat, fortification, defenses.
  • If it began in 445 B.C., and you add to that four hundred and eighty-three years, to the exact month (because we know that the month in which the edict to rebuild Jerusalem was issued was the Hebrew month Nisan, which corresponds about to our April), then it brings us down to April, 32 A.D. It is necessary to allow for a four-year error in dating the birth of Christ (4 B.C. rather than 1 A.D.), and to use, as the ancients did, a year of 360 days rather than 365. If we work this out carefully, as certain chronologers have done, we find that the four hundred and eighty-three years (seven years short of the full four hundred and ninety), was fulfilled on the very day the Lord Jesus entered into Jerusalem riding on a donkey, with the multitude of disciples bearing palm branches in their hands going before him crying, "your king is coming to you." Thus he fulfilled Zechariah's prophecy
• ***The Anointed One: The Meshiach Nagid: “The Messiah the King.” The prediction is to the presentation of the Messiah the King (Nagid is first used of King Saul). On several occasions in the New Testament when they attempted to take Jesus as a King, He invariably declined, “Mine hour is not yet come.” (John 6:15; 7:30, 44; etc. [KJV]) Then one day, He arranges it (Luke 19:39).
• The Triumphal Entry:
  • Zechariah 9:9: Rejoice greatly, O people of Zion! Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and victorious, yet he is humble, riding on a donkey -- even on a donkey's colt.
  • All four Gospels, Matthew 21:1-9; Mark 11:1-10; Luke 19:29-39; John 12:12-16. Nisan 10: “take to everyone a lamb.” Jesus deliberately arranges to fulfill Zechariah 9:9. This is the only day He allows them to proclaim Him King in Luke 19:38: Saying, "Bless the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in highest heaven!" …quoting Psalm 118.
  • Luke 19:39: But some of the Pharisees among the crowd said, "Teacher, rebuke your followers for saying things like that!"
    • Why? The Pharisees assure our noticing the significance! And He answered and said unto them, “He replied, "If they kept quiet, the stones along the road would burst into cheers!” But as they came closer to Jerusalem and Jesus saw the city ahead, he began to cry. "I wish that even today you would find the way of peace. But now it is too late, and peace is hidden from you. Before long your enemies will build ramparts against your walls and encircle you and close in on you. They will crush you to the ground, and your children with you. Your enemies will not leave a single stone in place, because you have rejected the opportunity God offered you." Luke 19:41-44.
    • Jesus held them accountable to recognize this very day (Luke 19:41-44). This was the 10th of Nisan, prior to the Passover on the 14th of Nisan, A.D. 32.

(26) "After this period of *sixty-two sets of seven, the Anointed One will be **killed, appearing to have accomplished nothing, and a ***ruler will arise whose armies will ****destroy the city and the Temple. The end will come with a flood, and war and its miseries are decreed from that time to the very end.

• The 69 Weeks Judgment Declared:
• 69 weeks times seven years, times 360 days of their calendar year will give us the number of days in the prophecy: 173,880 days. So Daniel is saying after the decree of March 5, 444 B.C., there are 173,880 days until Messiah is cut off.
• Now, this can be verified with our calendar system. The difference between 444 B.C. and 33 A.D. is 476 solar years. But how many days is that? By multiplying 476 by  365.24219879 (or by 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, 45.975 seconds), one gets 173,855 days, 6 hours, 52 minutes, 44 seconds–or 173,855 days. Now there is a difference of 25 days. But remember, the solar reckoning is from March 5, 444 to March 5, 32 A.D., calculating on exact years. If we add the difference of the 25 days to March 5, we come to March 30 (of A.D. 33). In the year 33 A.D. that was Nisan 10, the Monday of the Passion Week, the probable day of the Triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem.4 Jesus died Nisan 14, 33 A.D., or April 3, 33 A.D. So Daniel is saying that from March 5, 444 B.C., there will be 173,880 days and then after that (by 4 days) the Messiah will be cut off. No wonder there was an increase in Messianic expectation in the days of Jesus; groups like the Essenes knew and loved the Book of Daniel.
• Jesus was born in the winter of 5/4 B.C. just prior to the death of Herod, who died between March 29 and April 11, 4 B.C. He began His public ministry in the fall of 29, just after John began his that summer, the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberias. Jesus' ministry included at least three, most likely four trips to Jerusalem for Passover, the last being his death (the narratives mention three different Passovers, but a fourth fits in the chronology as well). So that rules out a 30 A.D. death, which would have given him a ministry of a few months. Passover fell on Friday in 30, 33, and 36. The year 36 is too late, for Pilate was only there through 35 A.D. So 33 A.D. fits all the evidence the best.
• *sixty-two sets of seven (62X7) = 434 years.
• **killed (cut off in the KJV): karat, to cut off, eliminate, kill, execute; death penalty (Leviticus 7:20; Psalm 37:9; Proverbs 2:22).
• karat means to cut down or kill and is the same word used in Leviticus 7:27 for the death penalty. There is no doubt that this prophecy tells us that the Messiah would be executed. Secondly, the Bible says that He ‘will have accomplished nothing’. The Hebrew can also mean ‘but not for Himself’ and that is how it is translated in many Bibles. The Messiah would die… but He wouldn’t die for Himself. He would die for others. Amazing prophecy!
• Isaiah 53:8: From prison and trial they led him away to his death. But who among the people realized that he was dying for their sins - that he was suffering their punishment?
• ***ruler: the people of the prince that shall come in the KJV - the Roman general Titus who will become emperor.
• ****destroy the city and the Temple: Matthew 24:1-2: As Jesus was leaving the Temple grounds, his disciples pointed out to him the various Temple buildings. But he told them, "Do you see all these buildings? I assure you,they will be so completely demolished that not one stone will be left on top of another!" Josephus records this in great detail. There are many reports that Christians fled before then.
  
• Rabbinical Confirmations: Messianic; prior to the Temple destroyed [Yalkut, Vol II, 32b, p.79 Nazir edition.] Messiah to exit prior to A.D. 33. [Midrash Berishit, p.243 Warsaw edition; re: Yakov Prasch.]
• How Long will the gap between the 69th week and the 70th week occur? Romans 11:25: I want you to understand this mystery, dear brothers and sisters, so that you will not feel proud and start bragging. Some of the Jews have hard hearts, but this will last only until the complete number of Gentiles comes to Christ.
  • This interval is the period of the Church, an era kept secret in Old Testament: Mt 13:34,35; Ephesians 3:5,9.
• Interval also implied: Daniel 9:26; Isaiah 61:1,2 (re: Luke 4:18-20); Revelation 12:5,6. Also: Isaiah 54:7; Hosea 3:4,5; Amos 9:10,11 (Acts 15:13-18); Micah 5:2,3; Zechariah 9:9,10; Luke 1:31,32; 21:24.

(27) *He will make a **treaty with ***the people for a period of one set of seven, but ****after half this time, he will put an end to the sacrifices and offerings. Then as a climax to all his terrible deeds, he will set up a *****sacrilegious object that causes desecration, until the end that has been decreed is poured out on this defiler."

• *He: “the prince that shall come” in verse 26 in the KJV:
  • Seed of the Serpent Genesis 3:15
  • Idol Shepherd Zechariah 11:16, 17
  • Little Horn Daniel 7:8-11,21-26, Daniel 8:9-12, 23-25
  • Prince that shall come Daniel 9:26
  • Willful King Daniel 11:36
  • Beast Revelation 11:7; 13
  • False Prophet Revlation 13
  • Anti/pseudo-Christ 1 John 2:22
  • Lawless One 2 Thessalonians 2:8
  • Man of Sin 2 Thessalonians 2:3
  • Comes in his own name John 5:43
  • Son of Perdition 2 Thessalonians 2:3
  • He will be:
    • An intellectual genius: Daniel 7:20; 8:23; Ezekiel 28:3
    • An persuasive orator: Daniel 7:20; Revelation 13:2
    • A political manipulator: Daniel 11:21
    • A commercial genius: Daniel 8:25; Rev 13:17; Ps 52:7; Daniel 11:38, 43; Ezekiel 28:4,5
    • A military leader: Daniel 8:24; Revelation 6:2; Revelation 13:4; Isaiah 4:16
    • A powerful organizer: Revelation 13:1,2; 17:17
    • A religious guru: 2 Thessalonians 2:4 (“Allah”?); Revelation 13:3, 14, 15
  • Zechariah 11:17: Doom is certain for this worthless shepherd who abandons the flock! The sword will cut his arm and pierce his right eye! His arm will become useless, and his right eye completely blind!"
• **treaty:
• With this treaty, Israel will embrace the Antichrist as a political messiah, if not the literal Messiah. Jesus predicted this in John 5:43 (KJV): I have come in My Father's name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive.
• We don’t know who the antichrist is - but we do know that the covenant the antichrist confirms is based on the formula of “land for peace” - the formula upon which the Oslo Agreement (September 13, 1993 –September 13, 2000) was based. So the treaty exists, but collapsed before it was fully implemented. The principle of land for peace remains at the heart of every peace proposal. The antichrist is said to ‘confirm’ the covenant, not write it, or negotiate it or sign it. He ‘confirms’ it.
• ***the people: The Covenant enforced with “the people” : “The people” is an idiom for Israel. This is the “Covenant with Hell,” Isaiah 28:15; Zechariah 11:15-17 etc.
• ****after half this time: “midst of the week” in the KJV: The most documented period of time in the Bible. Time, times and the dividing of time (Daniel 7:25; 4:16, 23, 25).
• 3½ years Daniel 12:7
  42 months Revelation 11:2; 13:5
  1260 days Revelation 11:3; Daniel 12:6
  ½ “week” Daniel 9:27
• ****sacrilegious object: The “Abomination of Desolation” Antiochus IV (“Epiphanes”) 175-164 B.C. Antiochus IV was the 8th king of the Syrian dynasty and infamous brother of Cleopatra. “Epiphanes” = “Illustrious.” [Called “Epimanes,” the mad man by the Jews.] He made Torah reading punishable by death; slaughtered a sow on the Altar and erected an idol to Zeus in the Holy of Holies; incited the Maccabbean Revolt, which succeeded in rededicating the Temple, 25th Kislev, 165 B.C. This is still commemorated at Hanukkah. (Authenticated by the Holy Spirit: John 10:22.) The sacrifices and oblations cease; 2 Thessalonians 2:4. These require a Temple previously consecrated in Jerusalem. (Preparations have begun!)
• Matthew 24:21-22: the great tribulation: For that will be a time of greater horror than anything the world has ever seen or will ever see again. In fact, unless that time of calamity is shortened, the entire human race will be destroyed. But it will be shortened for the sake of God's chosen ones.
• This “Time of Jacob’s Trouble” climaxes in the “Day of the Lord”: Isaiah 61:2; Zechariah 12, 14; Revelation 19:19; et al. (Note that this is 3½ years, not 7, as is so often assumed.) Revelation 6 - 19 is essentially an elaboration of the events during the “70th Week” of Daniel 9.
• Jeremiah 30:7: In all history there has never been such a time of terror. It will be a time of trouble for my people Israel. Yet in the end, they will be saved!
• Daniel 12:1: "At that time Michael, the archangel who stands guard over your nation, will arise. Then there will be a time of anguish greater than any since nations first came into existence. But at that time every one of your people whose name is written in the book will be rescued.

EXCERPT FROM The Precision of Prophecy -
Daniel's 70 Weeks by Chuck Missler:
www.khouse.org/articles/2004/552/:

To fully appreciate the remarkable significance of the following article, it is essential to realize that the Book of Daniel, as part of the Old Testament, was translated into Greek prior to 270 B.C., almost three centuries before Christ was born. This is a well-established fact of secular history.

The Septuagint

After his conquest of the Babylonian Empire, Alexander the Great promoted the Greek language throughout the known world, and thus almost everyone - including the Jews - spoke Greek. Hebrew fell into disuse, being reserved primarily for ceremonial purposes (somewhat analogous to the use of Latin among Roman Catholics).

In order to make the Jewish Scriptures (what we call the Old Testament) available to the average Jewish reader, a project was undertaken under the sponsorship of Ptolemy II Philadelphus (285-246 B.C.) to translate the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek. Seventy scholars were commissioned to complete this work and their result is known as the "Septuagint" ("70") translation. (This is often abbreviated "LXX" and is so shown on the diagram.)

The Book of Daniel is actually one of the most authenticated books of the Old Testament, historically and archaeologically, but this is a convenient shortcut for our purposes here. It is critical to realize that the Book of Daniel existed in documented form almost three centuries before Christ was born.

Gabriel's Zinger

Daniel, originally deported as a teenager (now near the end of the Babylonian captivity), was reading in the Book of Jeremiah. He understood that the seventy years of servitude were almost over and he began to pray for his people.

The Angel Gabriel interrupted Daniel's prayer and gave him a four-verse prophecy that is unquestionably the most remarkable passage in the entire Bible: Daniel 9:24-27.

These four verses include the following segments:

9:24 The Scope of the Entire Prophecy;
9:25 The 69 Weeks;
9:26 An Interval between the 69th and 70th Week;
9:27 The 70th Week.

The Scope (Daniel 9:24)

Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy Place. Daniel 9:24

The idiom of a "week" of years was common in Israel as a "sabbath for the land," in which the land was to lie fallow every seventh year. It was their failure to obey these laws that led to God sending them into captivity under the Babylonians.

Note that the focus of this passage is upon "thy people and upon thy holy city," that is, upon Israel and Jerusalem. (It is not directed to the Church.)

The scope of this prophecy includes a broad list of things which clearly have yet to be completed.

The First 69 Weeks (Daniel 9:25)

A very specific prediction occurs in verse 25:

Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. Daniel 9:25

This includes a mathematical prophecy. As we have noted in previous articles, the Jewish (and Babylonian) calendars used a 360-day year; 69 weeks of 360-day years totals 173,880 days. In effect, Gabriel told Daniel that the interval between the commandment to rebuild Jerusalem until the presentation of the Messiah as King would be 173,880 days.

The "Messiah the Prince" in the King James translation is actually the Meshiach Nagid, "The Messiah the King." (Nagid is first used of King Saul.)

Bull's-Eye!

The commandment to restore and build Jerusalem was given by Artaxerxes Longimanus on March 14, 445 B.C. (The emphasis in the verse on "the street" and "the wall" was to avoid confusion with other earlier mandates confined to rebuilding the Temple.)

During the ministry of Jesus Christ there were several occasions in which the people attempted to promote Him as king, but He carefully avoided it: "Mine hour is not yet come".

The Triumphal Entry

Then, one day, He meticulously arranges it. On this particular day he rode into the city of Jerusalem riding on a donkey, deliberately fulfilling a prophecy by Zechariah that the Messiah would present Himself as king in just that way:

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. Zechariah 9:9

Whenever we might easily miss the significance of what was going on, the Pharisees come to our rescue. They felt that the overzealous crowd was blaspheming, proclaiming Jesus as the Messiah the King. However, Jesus endorsed it!

I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out. Luke 19:40

This is the only occasion that Jesus presented Himself as King. It occurred on April 6, 32 A.D.

The Precision of Prophecy

When we examine the period between March 14, 445 B.C. and April 6, 32 A.D., and correct for leap years, we discover that it is 173,880 days exactly, to the very day!

How could Daniel have known this in advance? How could anyone have contrived to have this detailed prediction documented over three centuries in advance? But there's more.

The Interval (Daniel 9:26)

There appears to be a gap between the 69th week (verse 25) and the 70th week (verse 27):

And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. Daniel 9:26

The sixty-two "weeks" follow the initial seven, so verse 26 deals with events after 69th week, but before the 70th. These events include the Messiah being killed and the city and sanctuary being destroyed.

As Jesus approached the city on the donkey, He also predicted the destruction of Jerusalem:

For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation. Luke 19:43-44

The Messiah was, of course, executed at the Crucifixion..."but not for Himself."

The city and the sanctuary were destroyed 38 years later when the Roman legions under Titus Vespasian leveled the city of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, precisely as Daniel and Jesus had predicted. In fact, as one carefully examines Jesus' specific words, it appears that He held them accountable to know this astonishing prophecy in Daniel 9! "Because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation."

The 70th Week

There is a remaining seven-year period to be fulfilled. This period is the most documented period in the entire Bible. The Book of Revelation, Chapters 6 through 19, is essentially a detailing of that climactic period.

The interval between the 69th and 70th week continues, but it is increasingly apparent that it may soon be over.

The more one is familiar with the numerous climactic themes of "end-time" prophecy, the more it seems that Daniel's 70th Week is on our horizon.

NOTES:

• Unless otherwise noted, the scripture version used is the New Living Translation, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois.
• Disclaimer: Source material for this study has been gleaned from many different sources. If you want further study, I have attempted to acknowledge these sources at http://studyingdaniel.blogspot.com/2013/08/references-for-book-of-daniel.html
• Index to all our studies are at http://oakview-bible-fellowship.blogspot.com/