If you're a visitor, you're stepping into the most difficult sermon I've ever preached. I just want to let you know. It's a challenging one. This is Daniel chapter 9 and the 70 weeks as we've been working through it. I say that with a smile. I actually think this is intended to be a very clear passage for us, something that's intended to help us understand the big picture of history, and that's what we're looking at today. I'd like to set the context by reading all of chapter 9. I'm not sure how much further. I'd like to take a break from it for the Advent season, Christmas season, and then come back to it after. But I wanted to finish with chapter 9 because it's so crucially tied together. I didn't want too much time to pass from the prayer and the vision of the 77s. So, beginning at Daniel chapter 9 at verse 1. In the first year of Darius, the son of Ahasuerus, by descent of Mede, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans, in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, perceived in the books the number of years that, according to the word of the Lord, to Jeremiah the prophet must pass before the end of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely 70 years. Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking Him by prayer and pleased for mercy, with fasting and sackcloth and ashes I prayed to the Lord my God and made confession saying oh Lord the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments we have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled turning aside from your commandments and rules we've not listened to your servants the prophets who spoke in your name to our kings our princes and our fathers and to all the people of the land to you oh lord belongs righteousness but to us open shame as at this day to the men of judah to the inhabitants of jerusalem and to all israel those who are near and those who are far away in all the lands to which you have driven them because of the treachery that they have committed against you to us oh lord belongs open shame to our kings to our princes and to our fathers because we've sinned against you to the lord our god belong mercy and forgiveness for we've rebelled against him and have not obeyed the voice of the lord our god by walking in his laws which he set before us by his servant the prophets all israel has transgressed your law and turned aside refusing to obey your voice and the curse and oath that are written in the law of moses the servant of god have been poured out upon us because we've sinned against him he has confirmed his words which he spoke against us and against our rulers who ruled us by bringing upon us a great calamity for under the whole heaven there has not been done anything like what has been done against jerusalem as it is written in the law of moses all this calamity has come upon us yet we've not entreated the favor of the lord our god turning from our iniquities and gaining insight by your truth therefore the lord has kept ready the calamity and has brought it upon us for the lord our god is righteous in all the works that he has done and we have not obeyed his voice and now oh lord our god who brought your people out of the land of egypt with a mighty hand and have made a name for yourself as at this day we have sinned we have done wickedly oh lord according to all your righteous acts let your anger and your wrath turn away from your city jerusalem your holy hill because for our sins and for the iniquities of our fathers jerusalem and your people have become a byword among all who are around us now therefore oh our god listen to the prayer of your servant and to his pleas for mercy and for your own sake oh lord make your face to shine upon your sanctuary which is desolate oh my god incline your ear and hear open your eyes and see our desolations in the city that is called by your name for we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness but because of your great mercy oh lord hear oh lord forgive oh lord pay attention and act delay not for your own sake oh my god because your city and your people are called by your name while i was speaking and praying confessing my sin and the sin of my people israel and presenting my plea before the lord my god for the holy hill of my god while i was speaking in prayer the man gabriel whom i had seen in the vision at the first came to me in swift flight at the time of the evening sacrifice he made me understand speaking with me and saying oh daniel i have now come out to give you insight and understanding at the beginning of your pleas for mercy a word went out and i have come to tell it to you for you are greatly loved therefore consider the word and understand the vision and now our text 70 weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city to finish the transgression to put an end to sin and to atone for iniquity to bring in everlasting righteousness to seal both vision and profit and to anoint a most holy place know therefore and understand that from the going out of the word to restore and build jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one a prince there shall be seven weeks then for 62 weeks it shall be built again with squares and moat but in a troubled time and after the 62 weeks an anointed one shall be cut off and have and shall have nothing and the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and sanctuary its end shall come with a flood and to the end there shall be war desolations are decreed and he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice an offering and on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator and there ends the reading of god's word well i think one of the challenges in understanding the plan of god as it's revealed in the scriptures the decrees of god as they're shown to us and described in the scriptures is our own impatience with that plan that's really what we're going to see today i think the um basic question of the psalmist is is important uh as the psalmist are constantly um somewhat perplexed by what seems to be the slow timing of the lord how long oh lord will this continue it's a frequent question it's confusing for us to see how history is playing out why things happen the way that they do and why the Lord has appointed things the way that they are. That's confusing. It's complex. Why do things have to be so complex? I think people ask that. I think people wrestle with that. Why does history have to be so complex? And we know that God's ways are not our ways why so much struggle then why so much suffering why so much difficulty for what appears to us for god to bring in his everlasting kingdom and righteousness and i think the answer to that but i believe the answer to that in light of especially daniel as we're considering this is that sin has made god's intervention in history complex for us not him sins think about all the sin that has happened and what sin has done to the human race and how everything has fallen it has made god's intervention in history complex for us not him we have to live patiently patiently through his plan patiently through his decrees as they play out as he addresses this overwhelming problem of sin for us and works out all the counsel of his providence think of how many things he has to work together throughout history and to deal with all the peoples of the earth it's marvelous and i think what's important today is that we have another apocalyptic snapshot of history in daniel chapter 9 that is meant to be that is intended to be a great encouragement to us that's what this is intended to be so it's important to stand back from this apocalyptic as we've been looking at visions and imagery it is not helpful to get into the weeds you've got to step way back and look at what's being said that's important for this particular section this may be one of the most complex sections in the scriptures to wrestle through some of the early church fathers were so confused about it they had no idea how to interpret it so surely we have to come at this with a lot of humility today and to be willing to understand that it has been there have been various positions on this throughout history but i say that by saying up front that we want us again step back out of the weeds and understand something very important right from the beginning of this that this was not something that was given to Daniel that was intended to be misunderstood or not understood in other words the angel Gabriel says this is the response to your prayer the angel Gabriel says here consider the matter and understand the vision. Daniel had been sick in the other visions. He didn't understand them. So here we come to what we think is the most difficult of all visions. And Daniel is told by the angel, no, this one you understand. You appreciate. It is the answer to your prayer. That's why I read the long passage today. So I want to keep this simple outline in front of you. Notice here that we're going to look at first the answer to Daniel's prayer that Gabriel gives, the struggle that he describes, and the hope that the vision declares. So again, the answer and the struggle and the hope. And I trust this will encourage you today as we see God answering Daniel's prayer, which really is answering our cry, and that's the importance of this today. The context here is incredibly important. If you rip this out of the context, as is often done, you'll miss everything that's being said. Context here is crucial. All of this precedes the vision of what's known as the 70 weeks. I've titled it the 77s. I'll come back to that. All of this precedes one of the most beautiful prayers of confession in all of the Scripture. The single issue for Daniel in chapter 9 was captured. Remember, all of this confusion, all of this captivity, all of this kingdom uproar was for one reason. What was it? Well, he says in verse 5, We, O Lord, have sinned. And we've committed treachery against you. We haven't listened to your pastors. We got goofy and silly. There was no knowledge of you anymore. Everything was a show. We didn't listen. We hardened our hearts. And therefore, all this calamity came. We brought all this hardship on ourselves. He said, that's quite a thing to say. Quite a thing to confess. We didn't wake up. We didn't look at the culture and say, why are things going this way? Why are they leaving the church in droves today? What's happening? Why have things gone so south? Nobody asks it. Remember last time I challenged that this was Jesus' challenge to the peoples. How could you not discern the times? How could you not discern what's happening? And the reality is, even though this is Old Covenant and very important distinctions are made with that, the New Covenant doesn't speak differently in some regards than saying God certainly brings calamity. God certainly brings chastises with calamity. and that's something that we're supposed to take seriously. Well, the point was, I think in the heart of that prayer, no one, he said nobody, entreated the mercy and the favor of the Lord. It's like all this chaos, all this craziness, and nobody was asking for mercy. Nobody was asking for grace. They saw disorder. They saw chaos. They were plundered out of their land. Their temple was torn down. They were in Babylonian captivity for 70 years. And no prayer. No confession. Like I said last time, they said probably what we have said today. Oh, you're talking too much about sin again. That's not the attitude before deliverance, as I said. The beautiful imagery of Daniel 9 was, this was the turning point. Notice how serious they took sin. Notice how serious Daniel's confessing sin. And he's not looking to the culture, and he's not saying, oh, they're the worst people. He's first confessing. He's not looking at the LGBT people first. He's saying, we've sinned. It's us. And he goes to the scriptures, and he reads Jeremiah 25. After 70 years, God would then judge Babylon. Babylon just fell. History. Babylon, right in front of Daniel's eyes, just fell. Then they would go back and they would return and rebuild Jerusalem. That's what the prophet said. Jeremiah 25 said that. Daniel's thinking, we've got to pray. It's time. Daniel didn't take the attitude, God's sovereign, we don't pray. We've got to pray. It's time. So he prays. He sees history moving. he's awake and Gabriel comes Gabriel says something beautiful you have been heard Daniel at the first word of your prayer not the last word you've been heard at the first word of your prayer and as soon as you prayed and that first word of repentance went out of your lips it shows how eager God is to forgive sins beloved, how eager God is to forgive sins as soon as that first word i want you to know you are greatly loved so are you all of you you are greatly loved the decree went out what decree that's where we are consider the vision consider the vision so what this is is it was meant for daniel to understand what burdened him most if you have a context to this what burdened daniel the most atonement for sin restoration of God's people that's what's captured here and that should be our concern that should be our great concern to the nations now is that this message gets out but what has God done for us Daniel sits at the beginning of this prophecy so at the beginning of your prayer the decree goes out we sit at the very end of this prophecy so what i'm about to describe to you here's daniel here are here's you we're at the very end of this prophecy and what that means is big picture we can trace how in history everything that we are about to go through has come to pass and that we sit now at the end waiting for the final consummation of everything, the resurrection. We're at the very end of history from this point. So this was meant to give Daniel understanding and more importantly, this was meant to say your greatest concern about restoration and the problem of sin will be answered in history. It's going to be answered through much struggle. You're going to be home soon. So Gabriel begins in verse 24. It's important to see it. I encourage you to have the scriptures open so you kind of see what's happening here. Seven, notice verse 24 of Daniel chapter 9. Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin and to atone for iniquity and to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and profit and to anoint the most holy place. This is the heart of the vision. It really literally is seventy sevens, seventy sevens weeks I'll come back to. To finish transgression. To make an end of sin. And there will be this set period of time by decree when finally all sin transgression will be finished. And there will be everlasting righteousness brought in. What a vision. Maybe the most important vision in the book. Very important vision for us. And as soon as he has this statement made in verse 24, he says, seal it up. This will be sealed. That is done. This is God's seal on this, meaning that God is bringing in what is describing what is being described here. And that's what we need to think about just for a minute. What is being described here? Whatever the confusion we have of the vision, the heart of it has to be this. It is the answer to Daniel of the burden of his prayer. Lord, we have sinned and we've committed treachery. Now you see how important this is. I've tried to have us think about, we get so worked up about everything happening in the world and and the culture i've tried to have us think about here the spirit of daniel who as i said last time think about you know are we in light of everything happening um repenting more than we're complaining about things it it's the spirit of daniel like john flavel i said last time um i could look at a thousand sins of others and see them clearly instead of repent of one sin of my own see my own sin this is the struggle here daniel's spirit is so burdened this way he is humble and he's confessing and he knows that the reason things are the way that they are is because of sin and god's so ready to deliver Daniel says Gabriel says seventy sevens are determined until what? all sins dealt with and the most holy is anointed you'll see that there seventy sevens to finish transgression and to anoint a most holy place the challenge here is is that this is clearly symbolic language and not literal periods of time. That's what's difficult for people. The number seven is clearly one of the most important numbers in Scripture that is meant to signify perfection. Just think of how Jesus taught about forgiveness with the number seven. How many times do I forgive? Up to 70 times seven. Which meant what? Indefinite. If this were literal, none of this would mean anything. literal seven weeks and seven time periods that would be encompassed through Daniel's life. That would mean absolutely nothing. Everlasting righteousness was not brought in in Daniel's life. So we're not talking about merely here reading this as literal weeks. It's capturing seven, really, you know, the language here is capturing seven-year periods. so it's describing 70 sevens not literal weeks and even then it's not helpful to follow some kind of strict chronology as if this is some people have done this is 490 years then 490 years in sevens seven we'll look at three epochs here um seven seven sixty two that makes 69 and then 70 none of you get that i understand that what i'm saying to you is this These represent three symbolic periods from Daniel's prayer With surprising emphasis on the last period We have three periods of time We have three phases in the vision We have three epochs to the vision Understand that from the beginning When your prayer went out beginning the decree to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince. That's what he says, literally. There will be seven sevens and 62 sevens. Now, I'm pretty good at math. Pastors generally aren't, but that does make 69. What was Daniel's burden? How long, O Lord, will the sanctuary called by your name be left desolate? Gabriel says, first phase, seven sevens. From the time of the decree, the time the decree went out, first word of your prayer, there are seven sevens, then the street shall be built again. and we know this from the book of nehemiah the temple was rebuilt the street was rebuilt um the wall was rebuilt from the time that and think about it then cyrus would come along and give that decree they're going to go back and they're going to rebuild they're going to rebuild jerusalem and this is going to be an exciting time then there's going to come the second phase that was seven sevens then there comes the second phase once jerusalem is restored and rebuilt there will be 62 sevens that's the long period from the time when jerusalem is rebuilt until who verse 25 well you can see it there know therefore and understand from the going out of the word to restore and build jerusalem to the coming of the anointed one a prince there shall be seven weeks Then for 62 weeks it shall be built again with squares and moat and in troubled times. What that is capturing is in the second phase is the time from when the temple is built all the way to the Messiah. And you see what's happening here. Daniel was concerned about these things. This was the answer to his prayer. Jerusalem, the rebuilding of the temple and the dealing with what? Sin. That's why it was thrown down to begin with. So Gabriel says seven sevens until the temple is rebuilt. And then from it being rebuilt, there will be 62 sevens until the Messiah comes. And that captures history from this point to the coming of Christ. That's all this is doing. It's capturing history from this point to the coming of Christ. That's 69 sevens. And after that, the 62-week phase, the second phase, notice, the Prince, the Messiah, will be cut off. The Prince, the Messiah, shall be cut off and shall have nothing. And the whole thing will happen again. They'll come and they'll destroy the city and the sanctuary and the end of it will be with a flood till the end of the war of desolations are determined. Now I think one of the central themes here that we have to grapple with just for a second is what affected Daniel before Gabriel speaks of the 70th seven, the last week, the last seven. It's probably one of the most overlooked phrase in the vision at the end of verse 25. Then for 62 weeks shall be built again with squares and moat, but in a troubled time. And then this whole thing will repeat itself again until the desolations are determined. This, if you're missing this, get this. This captures the heart of the struggle of the book of Daniel. We've prayed. We've cried. We've asked the Lord for help in these times. And this plan never seems to unfold. What are we told to do? To be patient. And in our experience, our experience is we have the same struggles. The same burdens, the same problems. Life is a struggle. We long to be set free from sin. We want peace. We want strength. Our health is always in question. We seem to face nothing but discouragement. Death comes when we least expect it of a loved one. It seems like nothing's ever moving. It seems like nothing's ever going. We feel stuck. We face struggle and disappointment and loss. Well, what is Daniel showing? Lord, would you hear us? Would you help us? Would you forgive us? Look at the end of the prayer. Lord, hear. Lord, forgive. Oh, Lord, listen. Oh, Lord, act. Do not delay for your own sake, my God, for your city and your people are called by your name. Our experience of God's workings feels incredibly slow. It feels he's doing little. But the scripture says everything different. Did he not answer us? That's the question of the vision. Daniel said, oh Lord, we've sinned. Forgive us. Daniel says, Gabriel says, after 62 weeks, Messiah shall be cut off in the city and the sanctuary destroyed. And here's the point of the vision. In history, when it seemed like all was lost, God gave his answer. God sent his Messiah. This is a vision of Jesus. This is a vision of Jesus and his people in history. He was cut off in the midst of this. He was crucified. He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquity. And the punishment that brought us peace was on him. And the very beginning answer to Daniel's prayer is captured for us when it's said right at the beginning, this is where it comes together, I hope, he finished transgression. He made an end of sins. He's talking about the prince, the Messiah. He made reconciliation for iniquity. And he brought in everlasting righteousness. when jesus said it was finished he was thinking of this sin was finished sin was paid for sin was atoned for there was reconciliation made between man and god he finished praying remember at the beginning of this he prayed forgive us and help us and what god is showing in this vision is very simple in history he did that he answered this prayer in jesus christ and what this describes is that temple after jesus finished finished sin paid for sin atoned for sin the temple went down once and finally forever on earth that was AD 70 there was an end of sacrifice and offering it was done because Jesus was the final one and now beloved we live in the last seven of history that's the big picture 69 sevens have happened and then came the 70th seven that's the exciting aspect of the vision for you it's the most confusing part for people but I don't in my humble estimation it shouldn't be the seventh as one pastor said is like the Jubilee week this is the Jubilee this is the week where everything's been done everything has been made right that needs to be made right sin has been atoned for and that's verse 27 in verse 27 says and he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice an offering on the wing of abomination shall come one who makes desolate until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator that is when we live that's the last week of history the last seven of history if you will. Big picture here when transgression is finished when atonement is made when everlasting righteousness is brought in when was that done? AD 30 in the month of Nisan at about the sixth hour of the day when Jesus said it's finished. He shall confirm a strong covenant in that last period of history. What covenant is that? It's the new covenant. Daniel kept reading in Jeremiah 31. This is what he came to. Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I'll make a new covenant with the people of Israel and the people of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them, declares the Lord. This is the covenant I'll make with the people of Israel after that time declares the lord i will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts i will be their god and they will be my people no longer will they teach their neighbors saying to one another know the lord because they'll all know me from the least of them to the greatest declares the lord for i'm going to do what i will forgive their iniquities and i will remember their sins no more what are your sins today do you hear what god just said to you they've been paid for it's over i'm not remembering them i'm not holding them against you i've made a strong covenant the new covenant which is the fulfillment of everything promised to abraham jeremiah would go on 33 in those days and at that time i'll make a righteous branch sprout from david's line he will do what is just and right in the land in those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety that is the name by which it will be called the Lord our righteous Savior that's today the Messiah the prince will be cut off end of sin will be made sacrifice and offering 80-70 will be over the Messiah will confirm that covenant for one week one seven and that's what Jesus was celebrating when he went to the cross, beloved. When he went to the cross, he held up the bread and the wine and he said what? This is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me and you're going to see me again. The time you'll see me again by face is when we drink this anew in the kingdom together. All that's left in the big history picture is the consummation of everything. You are at the brink of it. He's ready to take us home. And the point is, God's grace will triumph. What encouragement is to us to think as we see this, how long, oh Lord, will this stuff go on? How long we want to go home? Daniel, your first word, a decree went out. Your prayer of forgiveness of sins. You are justified. Your people will be justified. Your Messiah will come. Your Messiah will do this for you. And this new covenant in your blood will be established for a jubilee period. A final seven. Where to the ends of the earth I will gather together the outcasts of Israel. That's when you live. That's when I live. So when you're discouraged by things. And when you're feeling that nothing is happening, and when you're feeling that death and sorrow and sin is prevailing, the message of the vision is this. I've already answered you. Atonement has been made. Sin is finished. You are forgiven who believe in Christ. Look at what has been done throughout history. Look at the scriptures to see that Jesus has been given, your Messiah, your Prince. And when you're discouraged and you feel like you're going nowhere and you're tired of the struggle, remember this. You just got half a week left. And that's the end of that week. That's how he wants us to see this. We are in the final days of the history of the heavens and the earth until they are renewed again. Until the consummation of everything comes. That's how the end verse reads. Until he makes desolate, until the decreed end. What that is, is in verse 27, till the consummation comes. The resurrection. And so, today, the encouragement of this vision is, he's answered your prayer. Whenever you pray for forgiveness of sins, no, he's answered your prayer. You're just on the brink of the end. And he's saving to the ends of the earth. And he's still gathering. The only reason we haven't come in yet, The only reason we haven't entered into this final glory that's been promised to us is because He is patient and He's still saving. Some of you have loved ones that still need to be saved. Some of you have friends and neighbors that still need to be saved. That's why you're here. But we're there, brothers and sisters. We're there. Daniel was here. We're there. So be encouraged in this. and see that god has answered you and that as the prophet gabriel said to daniel so many years ago you are greatly loved believe that know that and trust his promises the time is at hand let's pray heavenly father please give us wisdom as we've heard this today and bless this hearing as challenging as this section is and may oh lord we see how your promises have been fulfilled throughout history and that you are faithful and that you've made an everlasting covenant with us and our children and that you will fulfill your good word as you have promised to do thank you for answering our greatest problem thank you for dealing with the problem of sin when we cry out and when we're burdened and when we're feeling the burdens of living in this world and that we're going nowhere when we remember this vision. We're at the very end and that you, Lord, have promised to take us home soon. Thank you for giving us encouragement this way. Give us understanding and bless us, O Lord, for we're weak. In Jesus' name, amen.