Am I on? No, I've got to turn it on. No, no. Good. How about now? Can you hear me? Yes.
Good. Alright. Hey, we're looking at Daniel chapter 9 this morning, continuing our series
in the Old Testament book of Daniel.
So lately Beth and I have been doing quite a bit of pre-marriage counseling, which we
love doing with couples. And one of the topics that we always cover is the topic of expectations.
What expectations, preconceived ideas, assumptions, hopes are you bringing with you into this
relationship? We try to uncover those. Because nothing can cause conflict or disappointment.
Or even despair in a relationship that seems faster than unarticulated and unaddressed expectations.
So you need to talk about them. And more often than not, couples need to adjust them to reality.
But you know, the same is true in spiritual life. What sort of expectations ought we to
have in our life with God? This is actually something of vital importance because much like a young,
nice couple with unbeautical expectations, we can end up in disappointment or turmoil or frustration
or even despair. But thankfully we have texts like the one we're looking at this morning.
Daniel chapter 9, which helps us to be moving on the way, which helps us to shape the right
expectations for what our life with God will look like as we pursue His kingdom as a church
in the midst of the kingdoms of this world. So if you haven't done so already, turn to
Daniel chapter 9. It's page 747 in the Pew Bible. If you look there, you'll notice that the outline
of Daniel 9 is actually quite simple. It shows us first a prayer that we need to pray, and
then it will show a second an answer that we need to hear. A prayer that we need to pray,
and an answer we need to hear. So let's dive in first. A prayer we need to pray. Let's read
the first half of chapter 9, starting in verse 1 and heading in verse 19. In the first year
of Darius, the son of Hoshveros, by descent Amid, who is made king over the realm of the
Calvians, 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 pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. I pray
to the Lord my God in made confession, saying, O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps
covenant and steadfast love of 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 have not listened to your servants and prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes,
and our fathers, and all the people of the land. To you, O Lord, belongs righteousness,
but to us hope and 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, and all the lands to which
you have driven them because of the treachery that they have committed against you. To us,
O Lord, belongs open shame, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we
have 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 walls, which he set before us by his servants and prophets. All Israel has transgressed your
law and turned aside, refusing to obey your voice. And the curse and oaths that are written
in the law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured out upon us, because we have sinned
against them. He has confirmed his words, which he spoke against us and against our rulers
who rule us by bringing upon us a great calamity. For under the whole heaven there has not been
anything done 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 have 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, O 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. O Lord, according to
all your righteous acts, let your anger and your wrath turn away from your city, Jerusalem,
your holy hill, because of 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, O God, listen
to the prayer of your servant who is pleased from her seat. And for your own sake, O Lord,
make your face to shine upon your sanctuary which is desolate. O 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. O Lord, hear. O Lord, forgive. O Lord, pay attention and act. Delay not for your own sake,
O my God, because your city and your people are called by your name.
Amen. A few years ago, the writer, Anne Lamott, wrote a little book on prayer called Help,
Thanks, Wow, The Three Essential Prayers. And of course, those three prayers are certainly
essential. It's not a bad way of capturing their essence either. Help, the prayer of supplication
and petition, asking God for what we and others need and realizing our dependence upon
him. Thanks, the prayer of thanksgiving and gratitude, acknowledging that every good gift
comes from God and giving him the credit that says do. And then, of course, wow, the prayer
of adoration to God. The prayer of loving all simply for who God is. But you know, in Lamott's
catalog of prayer, actually, something's missing. A prayer that's actually utterly essential
to having a real, vital relationship with God. And that prayer is the prayer of confession.
Of admitting our sin before God and asking for mercy. Now, maybe you have a hard time with
the idea of confession. On one hand, if you come from a religious background, maybe the thought
of confession conjures up the thought for you of sitting in a tight wooden stall, a confessional,
talking through a screen, praying great prayers, and doing a lot of anti-religious activity.
Well, who's all that? On the other hand, maybe the idea of confession just makes you think
of being pummeled down with a bunch of false guilt. And of course, there is such a thing as
false guilt, to be sure. Like when we take responsibility for things that are beyond our control.
Like a parent who blames him or herself for the waywardness of their child, even though
they've been faithful to the parent. Or more often, false guilt comes when we constantly
compare ourselves to others. And then we beat ourselves up, thinking that we should have
or be able to do what we see others around us doing. And so we feel guilty of making them
accuse ourselves because we're measuring ourselves up to these human standards.
But you know, none of this is what the Bible has in mind when it calls us to confession,
to repentance. It's not an empty ritual. It's not wallowing in false guilt. No.
It's actually the God-given means of dealing with our broken relationship with God and then
with one another. Confession, you see, is the path to reconciliation and to change.
After all, if there is such a thing as false guilt, there's also such a thing as real guilt.
As the great angelic prayer of confession puts it, most merciful God, we confess that
we have sinned against you and fought word and deed by what we have done and by what we
have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart. We have not loved our neighbors
as ourselves. You know, if we're honest, and if you and I are through with playing spiritual
games, none of us can say that we have no need of confession. I'm reminded here of C.S.
Lewis' opening chapter of your Christianity where he says that we've all broken the rule
all. And then he says in the tongue-in-cheek, now if there are any exceptions among you, I apologize
to them. They had better read some other book. You had better listen to some other servant.
For nothing I am going to say concerns them. And now, turning to the ordinary human beings
who are left. Indeed. Turning to us ordinary human beings who realize that we need a prayer
confession. But who also need help in learning how to pray it. We come to Daniel 9. Let's look
at these verses again. In verse 1, the scene opens in 539 B.C. The Babylonians have just
fallen to the Persian Empire. Darius the Mede pulls over the city of Babylon. And in verse
2, Daniel, reading the prophet Jeremiah, realizes that the time of exile is about to come to an
end. Now what would Daniel have been reading in the book of Jeremiah? I want to be able
to think of that. Well, think of a verse like Jeremiah 25 and 11 and 12. Jeremiah says,
In the people of Israel, you shall serve the king of Babylon 70 years. And after 70 years
are completed, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation for their indignity, he declares
the Lord. And perhaps Daniel would have also been meditating on Jeremiah 29. Listen to verses
10 through 14. For thus says the Lord, when 70 years are completed for Babylon, I will visit
you. And I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place where I know
the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans for welfare and not for evil to give you
a future and a hope. That verse sounds familiar, doesn't it? Then you will call upon me and come
and pray to me and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all
your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord. And I will restore your fortunes
and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I've driven you, declares
the Lord. And I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.
Amazing. Decades before, Jeremiah 3, God's world were new and settled in this period of exile.
And here is the Lord reading these promises from God's word, knowing that the time is near,
and he responds by praying. Which is something Daniel does a lot of in this book, doesn't
he? He's always praying. He's praying when he needs wisdom. He's praying when he's in
trouble. He's praying regularly three times a day he prays. But why does he pray a prayer
of confession here? Why not a prayer of adoration? God, you're going to do it. It's here. Why
not a prayer of thanksgiving? Yes, the end has finally come. No, it's a prayer of confession.
Daniel prays that way because ultimately it wasn't Babylon that put Israel in that God.
It was God. This is how the whole book of Daniel begins, you remember, because Israel broke
God's gracious covenant again and again. Chapter 1, verse 2, the Lord gave them into Nebuchadnezzar,
Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. As we'll see in a minute, the law of Moses warned the
people that if they broke faith with God, he would drive them into exile, hand them over
to their enemies. You can look up Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28. There God warns Israel
the curses that would fall on them if they preached the covenant. But God also promised, again
in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 30 and in 1 Kings 8 when Solomon dedicates the first
temple. And from the text of Jeremiah we just read, God promises that in exile the people
would turn to him in confession and repentance and he would forgive their sins and bring them
home. And so here is Daniel living in the middle of this unique moment in redemptive history
on the cusp of God bringing his people home from captivity. But even though Daniel's situation
is unique, you know, his prayer is still instructive for us. It's still here to teach us. So what
then does a genuine prayer of confession look like? I think we see three parts here in verses
3 through 19. Let's look at them each briefly. First, a genuine prayer of confession looks
like acknowledging the truth about God and about us. This is verses 4 through 10. Look at how
Daniel speaks of God here. Great and awesome. Verse 4, if you haven't King James, great and
terrible. He keeps covenant and steadfast love. Verse 4, to him belongs righteousness. Verse 7,
14, 16. To him also belongs mercy and forgiveness, verse 8 and 19. And for the first time in the
whole book of Daniel, which is really surprising, for the first time in the whole book of Daniel,
in this chapter alone, God is called upon, is spoken of by his covenant name. By the name that he
revealed to Moses and the burning bush out of the Lord. Capital L, R-D in our English translations.
I am who I am. Verse 4, 8, 10, 13, 13. You see, it all begins with a right view of God.
The God of the Bible, the one true God, friends, is no doting or an apparent. The God who created
us is no cosmic therapist that we pay to ask us questions and merely affirm us. No, this
God, the true God, is the consuming fire. The perfection of righteousness. The perfection
of mercy. Calvin in the opening of the Institute says that so often the reason we think that
we aren't sinful in need of grace is because we spend so much time merely comparing ourselves
to other people. If we spend all our time only contemplating earthly things, if we only look
for theملider and truly accept aged 12 years later. And then we would like to see the
examine our body, when we can see how state that it looks at us. But when we get a glimpse
of the white, hot blaze of the sun, when we lift our gaze to see the radiance of holiness
and righteousness that is God, then our condition is seen for what it is. Suddenly what once appeared
it is.
Suddenly, what once
appeared bright
is seen murky
and in the of the insane.
Look then at how Daniel speaks
of us.
We have sinned,
verse 5, 8, 11, 15, 16.
That is, we've fallen short in God's purposes
for us. We've done wrong,
verse 5. We've acted wickedly,
verse 5 and 15.
We've rebelled, verses 5
and 9. We've turned
aside, we've gone astray for God's
commandments and rules. We've not
listened to the prophets and obeyed God's
voice, verse 6, 10, 11, 14.
We're guilty of treachery, verse 7.
Transgression, verse 11.
Iniquity, verse 13 and
16.
To us belongs open
shame, verses 6 and
9.
It's quite a picture of that.
A heart one to swallow, perhaps.
Pretty bleak.
But you know, the reason why
the picture is so grim
is because of what God
originally created
us to be.
You see, God
created
every human being
in His own image,
worthy of dignity
and honor
and value.
And that's true of each
one of us,
regardless of race
or gender
or class
or age
or ability.
Humans are the high point
of God's creation
in Genesis 1.
The crowning moment
of God's creation
in the earth.
And that is why
our fallen condition
is so wretched.
We are full of dignity,
God's blown image
bearers,
and yet we rebel
against God.
We ignore God
and the world He has made.
And as a result,
we ruin
our relationships
to one another,
the world,
and even to ourselves.
Friends, look.
Look at the wreckage
we've made
of God's
good world.
Blaise Pascal once said,
in brutal
but honest words,
humans are the glory
and the garbage
of the universe.
And note that Daniel
includes himself
in this picture,
doesn't he?
We have sinned,
he says.
Now think about it.
Daniel is one of the few
figures in the Old Testament
of whom some massive failure
is not reported.
Count all through your mind
most of the main figures.
Abraham,
oops,
there's that whole deal
with Satan,
with Agar,
Jacob,
he didn't really come off
so clean,
did he?
David,
and on and on and on and on.
And yet,
Daniel,
man,
he seems to be
a pretty good guy.
But as we see
in verse 20,
Daniel knows himself
to be guilty as well.
He cannot exclude himself
from this condition.
And he makes
no intent
to excuses.
And that brings us
to the second part
of this prayer,
verses 4 through 10.
Verses 4 through 10
show us that
a genuine confession,
a genuine prayer
of confession
acknowledges
the truth about God
and ourselves.
But then in verses
11 through 14,
the next section,
the genuine prayer
of confession
leads us to confess
the rightness
of God's judgment.
Throughout this section,
11 through 14,
Daniel affirms
that God
was not arbitrary
or capricious
in sending
the people in exile.
God had clearly
warned them
of the law of Moses.
He had sent
the prophets
of them again
and again
to remind
and plead
and warn
the people
of what the law
said.
Generation
after generation,
God was patient
and forbearing
and loving.
And so when judgment
finally came,
Daniel could say
in verse 14,
the Lord our God
is righteous
in all the works
he has done.
Now it's one thing
to admit that God
is holy
and we are sinful.
It's another thing
to admit that God
is just
to judge our sin.
And yet friends,
this is what
real confession
looks like.
It makes no excuses.
It doesn't try
to justify
or minimize
what we've done.
How often
have you heard
of an apology
like that?
I'm sorry
if I hurt you.
I'm sorry
if you do
offense at that.
I'm sorry
that this bad
thing happened.
And yet none
of that
is saying
I was wrong.
A genuine
prayer for confession
puts the reality
full in the face.
You know,
too often
we see sin
as a collection
of missteps
or mistakes.
And deep down
we think
we're basically
good.
Deep down
we're good
in these faults
or flaws
that word
of anger,
that look
of lust,
that spike
of jealousy.
Well,
that's just
me having
a bad day.
I was feeling
under some pressure.
I skipped
breakfast.
But you know,
friends,
the truth
is
that anger,
that lust,
that jealousy,
they're not
some mere mistake
of your true character.
They're actually
a symptom
of a deep
heart condition.
Now they overflow
of the heart
and the mouth
speaks.
All these things
are a symptom
that our hearts
rebelled against God.
And God
is completely
within his rights
to end our
rebellion.
But that's not
where the prayer
ends.
Third,
verses 15
through 19,
a genuine
prayer of confession
leads us
to appeal
for mercy.
And notice
on what grounds
Daniel appeals
for forgiveness.
Look at the end
of verse 18.
We do not present
our pleas
before you
because of
our righteousness
but because of
your great
mercy.
Friends,
why do we go
to God
in confession?
Is the act
of confession
itself
some sort
of righteous
act that God
will reward
with forgiveness?
I've screwed
up all this
other stuff
but at least
I can do
this one
thing.
I can do
this act
of forgiveness
and then
God will
reward me
on the basis
of that act
and then
he'll
forgive me.
No!
Not even
our act
of confession
is something
that God
rewards.
Rather,
and so much
more freeingly,
we go to
God in confession
because we
know that
God is
great
in mercy.
that we
can't
and we
don't
need
to bring
our
unrighteousness
because God
is great
in mercy.
This is what
we've been
studying in the
evening service
in the book
of Ephesians
for the last
couple of
weeks.
In chapter 2,
John has been
preaching about
these opening
verses where
the apostle
Paul says
that we're
spiritually dead
because of
our sins,
but God,
he says,
being rich
in mercy
because of
the great
love with
which he
loved us,
even when
we were
dead in
our trespasses,
made us
alive together
with Christ.
By grace
we have been
saved.
Because of
God's
great
mercy.
And you
see,
friends,
this is what
separates
biblical faith
from pretty
much everything
else.
Because when
you see it,
when you pray
a genuine
prayer of
confession,
you realize
that the
answer to
our problem
isn't found
in our
own
righteousness.
It's not
in our
own
resources,
our own
intentions,
our own
efforts,
our own
resolutions,
not even
in our
own
confession
and
repentance,
but
wonderfully
and amazingly
our answer
comes solely
and totally
and sufficiently
abundantly
from God's
own
great
mercy.
And this
makes genuine
biblical
prayers of
confession,
the prayers
of confession
very different
from all
else too.
Why?
Because even
though the
biblical picture
of our sin
and guilt
are dire
indeed,
and that
makes us
very humble
and very
contrived,
yet we can
also approach
God with
an unheard
of assurance
and confidence
that He will
accept us
and forgive
us
because He
is great
in mercy.
Daniel was
very confident
in God's
mercy in
verse 15,
if you look
at that
verse,
because this
was His
name God
who had
delivered His
people once
already.
This is a
God who had
shown His
steadfast love.
When the
people were
in captivity
in Egypt,
God rescued
them in
the Exodus.
For the
sake of His
great name,
that is to
make known
to all the
world how
great and
awesome He
is.
God's already
done this,
He's already
extended to us
His steadfast love.
And so now
Daniel can call
upon God
knowing that
God has done
it already,
delay not.
For your own
sake, O my
God, for your
city and your
people are called
by your name.
In other
words, let
everyone know
that you're not
like these other
gods.
Let everyone
see how great
glorious you
are.
Let everyone
see how
merciful and
faithful you
are.
Act,
God, for
the glory of
your great
name.
Hear,
forgive,
act.
And friends,
if Daniel
can pray for
mercy with
such urgency
and with
such confidence,
how much
more can we
today?
Daniel looked
back to the
Exodus.
But as
John mentioned
earlier in
her service,
we look back
to the cross.
In the
Exodus, you
remember when
the final plague
came upon
Egypt, when
every firstborn
was going to
die.
The people of
Israel were
told to
sacrifice a
lamb.
And when
God's judgment
came, that
lamb would
serve as a
substitute, the
place of the
firstborn, and
the plague would
pass them
over, and
they would
be saved.
Friends, in
the same way
when Jesus
died on the
cross, he
died as our
substitute, as
the true
lamb of God
for our
sins, so
that we
might be
safe when
God's
judgment
passes by.
That the
blood of the
lamb has
been spilled
for us.
That the
judgment has
been poured
away.
And now
we can
be right,
and can
be safe,
and can
be accepted.
And so
our
goal for
mercy can
be made
with even
greater
confidence
and pain.
Because we've
seen the
fullness of
God's great
mercy on the
cross, where
the love of
God was
expressed
fully when the
Son of God
died for us.
And not just
that, but being
raised from the
dead on the
third day, Jesus
now lives to
intercede for
us.
Who could
possibly condemn
us?
Paul writes
in Romans 8,
34, Christ
Jesus is the
one who died,
more than that,
who was raised,
who is at the
right hand of
God, who is
indeed interceding
for us.
Before you
even pray a
prayer of
confession, the
Almighty Savior
has been praying
for you.
So friends, as we
wrap up this
first point, the
prayer we're going
to pray, let me
ask.
Are you
regularly praying
this sort of
prayer to God?
Is this part of
your regular
communion with
God, this sort
of prayer?
Are you taking
your sins and
failures to God,
admitting that
they deserve just
judgment, and
then pleading and
resting in God's
great mercy, that
they have been
forgiven for his
name's sake because
of the crisis of
God?
We're not
talking about
groveling in
guilt, you see.
We're talking
about dealing
with guilt.
Actually dealing
with it.
We're talking
about experiencing
the reconciling
power of the
cross of Christ on
a daily basis, and
feeling the burden
lift, and knowing
our conscience is
clean.
God.
Friends, if this is
not characterized
with regular
communion with
God, start
now.
God.
And do you make
this prayer not
just for yourself, but
for the church
in the whole?
Daniel prayed for
God's old covenant
people.
We too should pray
for God's new
covenant people, the
church.
There are many
sins that we must
corporately confess,
you know.
We can make a long
list of them this
morning, I'm sure.
Pride, self-righteousness,
racism, sexism, a
coldness to the
mission of God,
lethargy, on and
on and off you can
list them out.
Friends, do you
join your voice with
the whole church and
pray for God's mercy
upon us as people, as
a body?
Or do you excuse
yourself?
And think yourself
better than your
brothers and sisters
in Christ.
Well, I'm not like
that.
I'm a little more
than Daniel,
sock of the
spectrum.
Friends, a prayer
for confession is a
great gift.
In fact, it's one of
the marks of genuine
vital Christianity.
One writer put it
this way, what
distinguishes us
from the world is
not that we are
less wicked.
What distinguishes
us from the world is
not that we are
less wicked.
but that by the
grace of God we
have learned to see
our wickedness for
what it is and that
we confess our sins.
The church is the
only body on earth
that confesses sins.
Where the confession
of sin dies out, the
church is no longer
the church.
church.
This is one reason
why Sunday after
Sunday we have a
prayer of confession.
So that we can
constantly come back
to the very heart of
the gospel that our
sins are great.
But the mercy of God
in Christ is even
greater.
Well, let's move
into our second and
our last point.
the answer we need
to hear.
Let's read the
second half of the
chapter, verses 20
to 27.
While I was speaking
and praying, confessing
my sin and the sin of
my people Israel,
presenting my plea
before the Lord my
God from the holy
hill of my God, while
I was speaking in
prayer to thank
Gabriel whom I had
seen in the vision
of the first, came to
me in swift flight at
the time of the
evening sacrifice.
He made me
understand speaking
with me and saying,
O Daniel, I have
now come out to give
you insight and
understanding.
At the beginning of
your please or
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.
Seventy weeks are
to grieve about
your people and
your holy city to
finish the
transgression, to
put an end to
sin, to atone for
iniquity, to bring
an everlasting
righteousness, to
seal both vision
and prophet 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
of prince, there
shall be seven
weeks.
Then for sixty-two
weeks it shall be
built again with
squares and
open in a
troubled time.
And after the
sixty-two weeks an
anointed one shall
be cut off and
shall have nothing.
And the people of
the prince who is
to come shall
destroy the city
and the 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 and
offering.
And on the wing
of abomination
shall come one
who makes desolate
until the decreed end
is poured out
on the desolator.
So God sends Daniel
in answer to his
prayer through the
angel Gabriel.
And at first the
answer we need to
hear is a word of
comfort.
Verses twenty
through twenty-three
Gabriel comes in
swift flight with a
word of mercy
telling Daniel you
are greatly loved.
And friends that is
a word of comfort
for everyone who
confesses their sins.
God is eager to
listen and respond
to his people's
prayers for mercy.
Isaiah 65 24 says
before they call I
will answer.
While they speak I
will hear.
Psalm 139 4
even before a word
is of my tongue
oh Lord you know
it all together.
Think of Jesus'
parables of Luke 18
that we read earlier.
If the unjust judge
grants a persistent
plea how much more
our heavenly father.
And when the two
men go up to the
temple to pray it's
not the righteous
Pharisee but the
contrite tax collector
who confesses his
sins and Jesus says
wait then he goes
home justified.
Right.
He goes like.
So friends let these
words sink in.
These words to
Daniel.
Let them sink in
your own heart.
You are
greatly loved.
So it's a word
comfort.
But the answer
we need to hear
is also a word
great promise.
We see this in
verse 24.
Now.
Verses 24
through 27
are a notoriously
tough passage
to interpret.
Some of you
have just been
drumming your fingers
waiting for me
to talk about
verses 24
through 27
and now you're
thinking oh my
gosh this
sword's gotta end
soon.
What is he doing?
Okay.
These verses are
very tough to
interpret.
This is one of
those passages
where scholars
love to pontificate
how challenging
they are.
But the reality
is lots of good
careful faithful scholars
have read these
verses in a variety
of different ways
so we want to
be generous
and we certainly
don't want to
be overly
dogmatic here.
If someone comes
to me and says
I know exactly
what the end of
Daniel 9 means
you should be
suspicious.
And certainly
with the time we
have we won't be
able to go into
all the fine
details and
differences of
those readings
this morning.
If you're
interested in
doing that
grab a cup of
coffee and meet
me in the
fellowship hall
downstairs
after the service.
I'll hang out
down there and I'll
be happy to dive into
all the eschatology
and apocalyptic
eschatology you
want to.
We can throw it
in.
That'd be fine.
I'd be happy to
do that.
That'd be fine.
Come do it.
But what I'm
going to try to
do with the time
that we have left
is I'm going to
just try to capture
the big idea here
because very often
we will lose the
force for the
trains.
And if you
understand this
passage differently
great.
You might be
right.
This is one of
those passages
where we're not
going to get too
uptight if we
put the pieces
together differently.
Well that
preface let me
say that verse
24 is a word
of great promise.
Imagine yourself
in Daniel's shoes
for a moment.
He's just seen
the Babylonian
empire fall.
Jeremiah's
prophesied 70
years are almost
up.
His expectations
must be running
high right?
God is going to
fulfill his promises
soon.
We're going to go
home.
All that stuff that
the prophets
talked about is
going to be now.
It's happening.
But with verse
24 God tells
Daniel that the
ultimate fulfillment
of his redemptive
plan isn't going
to happen at the
end of this 70
years with the
return from exile
but at the end
of 70 times
7 years.
The margin of
the ESV helpfully
lets you know that
the phrase translated
70 weeks could
also be translated
70 seconds.
Now remember how
this part of the
book of David works.
Daniel is writing
in a style,
in a genre,
that we call
apocalyptic literature.
That is,
it's literature that's
heavy with symbolism
and figurative language.
Why?
What's the use of
that kind of literature?
Well not ultimately
so that PhD students
in late night prophecy
hour radio shows
can have endless
debates about exactly
who, what, when,
where, and why
all these little
details will sort of
take place.
No.
God employs this
kind of symbolic
figurative literature
because it helps us
feel the truth
of this stuff
rightly.
When we read about
the four beasts
in chapter 7
we're supposed to
feel a bit frightened.
And when we think
about a goat and a
ram in chapter 8
we're meant to feel
the swift power
and at the same
time the fragility
of these earth
lating notes.
And when we hear
70 times
we're supposed to
feel something too.
But what?
Well I think in order
to know what we're
supposed to feel
we're meant to hear,
we're meant to see
an echo
in this phrase
of an earlier passage
of scripture.
And that earlier passage
is Leviticus 25.
In Leviticus 25
God institutes
the year of Jubilee.
This is what
Leviticus 25 says.
Let me know if this
sounds familiar.
You shall count
seven weeks of years.
Seven times seven years
until the time
of the seven weeks
of years shall give you
49 years.
Then you shall sound
the loud trumpet
on the day,
on the tenth day
of the seventh month.
On the day of atonement
you shall sound the trumpet
throughout all your land
and you shall proclaim
liberty throughout the land
to all its inhabitants.
It shall be a jubilee
for you.
The jubilee year
was supposed to be
every seven times
seven years.
And on the day
of atonement
when God took care
of Israel's sin
and the holy of always
they were to blow
a trumpet
and they were to
set everyone free.
And they were to
release everyone
from them.
And they were to
give back all the land
of the original families
who had lost it.
And they were to let
the whole land
rest from the earth.
You know,
I don't know if Israel
ever actually did that.
We don't know
from history.
It's unlikely they did.
Could you imagine
how radically
countercultural
that would be
economically,
sociopolitically
to institute
in the middle
of a regular
economic and political
life such a
wildly
generous
and gracious
act of liberation.
And friends,
if that's what
was supposed to happen,
if that's what
was supposed to
take place
every seven times
seven,
then what
will God do
when it's
seventy times
seven?
Not just
forty-nine years,
but four hundred
and ninety years.
Do we make it
tenfold
jubilee
or not?
You see,
Daniel's using
these numbers
symbolically
to speak
of something
great.
That's
God.
And the rest
of the verse
tells us
what God
will accomplish.
He'll finish
transgression.
He'll put an
end to sin
and atone
for iniquity.
Imagine that.
Sin done away
with once
and for all.
Every spiritual
burden that
weighs us down,
that attacks
our soul,
that steals
our true
happiness,
that wrecks
our relationship,
that damages
our world,
all of it
will be put
to an end.
And there
will be an
atonement made
so great,
so lasting,
that it never
needs to be
repeated.
Friends,
that would
be an
unruly.
That would
be a real
return from
exile.
That would
be jibily.
But it
doesn't stop
there.
God will
bring in
everlasting
righteousness.
He will
seal,
that is,
he will
authenticate,
he will
fulfill all
that the
prophets had
spoken about
and he
would anoint
the most
holy place.
Can you
imagine a
world where
everything is
right?
Where nothing
is as
it is
meant to
be.
Where perfect
justice rolls
down like
waters,
like an
ever-flowing
stream.
Where every
relationship
and the
order of the
whole creation
is fitting
and beautifully
just like
it's house.
When the
prophets had
visions of
that,
they would
sometimes speak
of the whole
creation bursting
out in song,
of hills and
trees resounding
with joy.
And if
Revelation 21
and 22
give us
any help
here,
then we
can understand
that the
ultimate
anointing
of a
most holy
place is
nothing less
than the
new heavens
and the
new earth.
Whereas
another
Old Testament
prophet,
Zachariah,
says everything
has become
whole to the
Lord,
because the
Lord is
there in
all of
his
fullness,
dwelling in
the midst
of his
people.
God's
telling
Daniel
and us
in verse
24.
He's
telling us
that these
70 years
of exile
and the
return to
Jerusalem
in 538
B.C.,
those are
really just
a foretaste
of something
even greater
to come.
That God's
redemptive plan
is unfolding
towards a
climax that
will make
the great
jubilee
years of
the Old
Testament
look like
a backyard
birthday party
in comparison.
Small
in comparison
to the
celebration
of liberty
that's on
its way.
But with
this word
of great
promise in
verse 24
comes a
word of
preparation
in verses
25 and
27.
The
77s will
unfold in
three periods,
Daniel's
told.
And note
how each
period increases
in turmoil.
The first
period,
the 7
7s,
verse 25,
the first
part of that
verse seems
quite calm.
The second
period,
the 62
7s,
the second
half of
verse 25
is a
troubled
time,
God says.
And the
third period,
the last
7,
verses 26
and 27,
is full
of all
out of
war and
desolation.
But then,
when it
seems like
the desolations
couldn't get
any worse,
God's
decree
is poured
out.
And evil
is judged
and put
away with
once and
for all.
Now,
a ton of
ink has
been spilled
trying to
determine and
figure out the
exact time frame
of these three
periods and
trying to
identify the
various figures.
And roughly
speaking,
there are three
big views.
Some would
see all the
details of
verses 25
through 27
as being
fulfilled in
the second
century B.C.
when the
Syrian ruler
Antiochus
Epiphanes
attacked
Jerusalem
and defiled
the temple.
Others would
see everything
as being
fulfilled in
the first
century A.D.
when Jesus
came as
the Messiah,
was crucified
and risen,
and the
Romans
destroyed
Jerusalem.
Others would
see a
fulfillment of
these verses
partially in
Jesus'
day,
but would
see verse
27 especially
as referring to
events yet to
come,
just before
Christ returns.
And so we
ask,
well,
which is it?
Is this about
Antiochus?
Is this about
the Romans?
Is this about
the end times?
And I think
the answer,
friends,
is all three.
We know from
the context of
the book of
Daniel that the
Antiochus crisis
is at least
alluded to here.
There are
enough similarities
to chapter 8
that we looked
at last week
and chapter 11
that we'll look
at in a couple
weeks to see
a connection.
But at the
same time,
any of the
details don't
quite fit with
that.
Antiochus didn't
destroy the city
for one.
And his
downfall certainly
didn't put an
end to sin
once and for
all and bring
it out of
last righteousness.
Fact,
we know from
the New Testament,
is what Jesus
accomplished in
his personal
work.
So our
sites rightly
look through
this text beyond
the 2nd century
and on to the
1st century AD
where Jesus is
the true
important one who
has come.
He really
does atone
for sin.
He really
does anoint
the true
holy places
in heaven
with the
sacrifice of
his own
self,
as the
letter to
the
Eucharist
tells us.
It's very
interesting,
Jesus himself
in Matthew
25 and
13 tells us
that the
so-called
abomination
that makes
desolate,
that you see
here in
927.
We saw
back in
13,
you see
in 1131,
Jesus says
that that will
find its
ultimate fulfillment
when the
Romans under
Tyrus destroy
the temple
in his own
day in
17,
just after
his own
resurrection.
But still,
as we let
the cosmic
scoop of
the promises
of verse 24
sink into
us,
it seems to
push us even
further still
to the
consummation of
all things
and the
final conflict
with evil
that will
happen when
Christ returns
in the
second time.
So what we
have here in
Daniel 9 is
an example of
Old Testament
prophetic
literature having
multiple
horizons of
fulfillment.
Think of
Isaiah 40,
comfort my
people,
a voice crying
in the
wilderness.
We know
that was
about the
exile,
the return
from exile
on one
hand,
but also
it was
about
Jesus.
And the
New Testament
as Mark
tells us,
two things
at once,
it's the
same here in
Daniel 9.
Multiple
horizons.
There are
multiple
crises on
the horizon
for God's
people.
And so
God gives
Daniel and
us a
message of
preparation.
Preparation
as the
Apostle Paul
said in
the early
churches in
Acts 14,
23,
that it's
for many
tribulations
that we
must enter
the kingdom
of God.
And as
Jesus taught
his disciples
after the
last supper
in John
15,
20,
remember
the
word that
I said
to you.
A servant
is not
greater than
his master.
If they
persecute me,
they will
also persecute
you.
Like the
New Testament
does over
and over
again,
Daniel 9
is giving
us the
right
expectations.
On the
one hand,
there is the
fullness of
forgiveness and
mercy.
Every prayer
of confession
is met
with a
speedy
word of
comfort.
And there
is a
great future
ahead for
the people
of God
in God's
world.
But on the
other hand,
becoming a
Christian,
knowing God's
mercy and
grace,
will not
automatically
result in
an easy
life.
All of
your troubles
and problems
will disappear.
Today, as
Matt mentioned,
is the
International Day
of Prayer
for the
Persecuted
Church.
Friends,
many of our
brothers and
sisters worldwide
are experiencing
some of this
deep,
unknown reality.
Hatred,
violence,
arrest,
imprisonment,
even death.
And like
the persistent
widow in
Luke 18,
friends,
may we lift
our voices
to God
and pray
for His
justice to
come speak
to me.
Because
Daniel 9 also
gives us one
more expectation
as well.
Not only will
there be
trouble,
but all
these times
are in
God's
hands.
Daniel's not
speaking chronologically
here,
but chronographically.
He's painting
a picture for
us with
numbers of
symbols.
The 70
times 7
is a way
of saying
that God
is in
control of
history.
He orders
the events
and days.
He has
appointed a
decree end
for all
suffering and
injustice and
violence and
oppression.
These things
will be cut
short in
God's perfect
heart.
And that
means we
can live
with courage,
with confidence.
God has
not only
forgiven our
sins in
personal,
but one
day he
promises to
bring an
everlasting
righteousness
and justice
to make
all things
better.
Let's pray.
God, we do
ask that you
would give
us the
humility and
the strength
for the
living of
these days.
Lord, we
thank you
for your
great mercy.
We thank
you for the
great comfort,
the great hope
that we have,
but we also
thank you that
no matter what
trials we face
in this life,
your victory
is secure.
We pray this
in Jesus' name.
Amen.