Daniel 9 – 12
An overview:
Chapter
NINE…The Prophetic Calendar. II Peter 1:19-21 Worshiping false gods and listening to false
prophets had led to Israel’s spiritual decay and ultimate collapse as a
nation. The people had not obeyed what
the prophets commanded, so Israel was exiled in Babylon; and there they learned
to take the prophetic word very seriously because it was the only hope they
possessed. The church today needs to
heed the word of prophecy because it is the light of certainty in a world of
darkness and uncertainty.
1. Insight – learning God’s plan (1:1-2)
2. Intercession – Praying for God’s
mercy (v. 3-19)
3. Instruction – Discovering God’s
timetable (v. 20 – 27)
v. 24 The
word “weeks” means “sevens”. Gabriel was
speaking about seventy periods of 7 years, 490 years. These years relate specifically to Daniel’s
people, the Jews and their holy city, Jerusalem. Daniel’s prayer concerns…the people be
forgiven their sins against the LORD, the city be rebuild and the temple be
restored. Because of the atoning death
of Jesus Christ, all of these wonderful accomplishments will be fulfilled
during the 490 years that Gabriel explains.
THREE
periods of time: 49 years v. 25, 483
years v. 26, v. 27 SEVEN years…”the Tribulation”, “the day of the LORD.” This will climax with the return of Jesus
Christ! Begins with the signing of the
covenant and into 3 ½ years, the Antichrist will break the covenant, seize the
temple and put his own image there…attempting to make the world worship
him. He has first deceived the world by
playing a shrewd political game will now reveal himself as a tool of Satan and
a cruel world dictator. Christ will
defeat him when He returns to establish His kingdom. (Rev. 19:11-21)
Gabriel did
not explain to Daniel the mystery time between the 69th and 70th
week – has to do with the Church, Body of Christ. Daniel did not know about the spiritual body
that included Jews and Gentiles…the born again.
Chapter 10 A
Remarkable Experience – Daniel would learn that the people would experience
great suffering in the years ahead, but that the Lord would watch over them and
ultimately establish the promised kingdom.
He had deep concerns for the people and for the rebuilding of the
temple. There was a delay of 16 years in
the building, which kept everything right on schedule. This is a good
reminder to us as we serve the Lord today that our times are in His hands (Psa.
31:15) and He is never late in accomplishing His will.
Daniel
wanted so badly to understand all the visions that he had been privy to. God had laid a burden on his heart. Because of his fasting and praying we are
studying his prophecies today. May the Lord help us to leave something behind in the journey
of life so that those who come after us will be encouraged and helped!
10:4-9, 14…Daniel
is given an awesome vision as he stood by the Tigris River…reveals Israel’s
future. Daniel could not celebrate the
Passover, but likely he was thinking about it.
This man was wearing a linen garment and a golden girdle, with a body
like topaz and a face like lightening, eyes like flaming torches, arms and feet
gleaming like polished brass, voice sounding like a great multitude. We don’t know what he spoke…but his
appearance and his speech were overwhelming.
The men with Daniel did not see the man, but they knew their was a
mighty presence and they hid themselves.
Daniel was alone, without strength, listening to his words but unable to
respond…stood there, stared and then fell into a deep sleep.
The
description of this man resembles the description of the glorified Christ Rev.
1:12-16
An invisible
War v. 10-21 The angel touched Daniel and enabled him to lift himself to his
hands and knees…spoke and enabled Daniel to stand upright. Daniel’s conversation with the angel reveals
to us the important fact that there is an “invisible war” going on in the
heavenlies between the forces of evil and the forces of God. Daniel’s prayer request to understand the
visions further had been delayed….the prince of the kingdom of Persia…an evil
angel…had attacked the angel bearing the answer, probably Gabriel. This is Biblical theology. Whe Lucifer rebelled against God and was
judged some of the angles fell with him and became the demonic evil angels that
oppose Christ and obey Satan. (Eph.
6:10-18…well organized army of evil spirits).
Our responsibility is to put on the whole armor
of God by faith and use the Word and believing prayer to oppose and defeat the
wicked one.
We must take
seriously the reality of Satan and his demonic forces just as the LORD Jesus
did. One of Satan’s chief traps is to
get people to think he doesn’t exist or, if he does exist, he is not worth
worrying about.
Daniel
fainted again and the angel restored his strength so he could hear the
prophetic message. Twice the angels told
Daniel to Fear not. And also, Peace! Be strong now, be strong. Daniel needed strength to be able to hear the
long message they had brought to him. The angel made it clear that the battle
was not over. Gabriel and Michael would
battle the evil satanic angels who were opposing the plans of the Lord for the
nations. Just as
evil is opposed to good leaders today. I
Timothy 1:1-3…The destiny of more than one nation has been changed because
God’s people have fervently prayed. II Cor. 10:4-5
Chapter 11…A
Remarkable Prophecy 1 – 35 Fulfilled prophecy is one of the proofs of the
inspiration of the Bible for only an omniscient God can know future events
accurately and direct His servants to write them down. (Dan. 2:22).
Those of us who believe in a great God have no problem accepting “the
word of prophecy” II Peter 1:19-21.
There were
words of prophecy in Daniel’s day but have been fulfilled and are now ancient
history. V. 1-2 prophecies about Persia,
v.5-20 kings of the north and the south, and about Antiochus Epiphanes and
Syria v. 21-35. Antiochus is a clear
picure of the future Antichrist. Daniel
knew that his people would endure great suffering for their faith, that some
would apostasize and join the enemy and that others would trust the Lord and
‘do exploits’. No matter how difficult
the times, God has always had His faithful remnant and He will keep His
covenant with His people to the very end.
Now, Gabriel speaks about the future Antichrist and the terrible time of
Jacob’s trouble v. 36 – 12:1
Predicted to
occur:
1. The time of Tribulation v. 36 – 12:1
(the last week of his prophecy. In
signing of the covenant – seems to be the guarantee of his protection for
Israel while the Jews rebuild their temple in Jerusalem. The end is when Christ returns and the
confinement of Antichrist and Satan in the lake of fire Rev. 19:11-21
*The rise of Antichrist v. 36-39He is part of the ten nation European
coalition; he is the “little horn” that emerges from the ten horns. He begins as a man of peace who solves the
Arab/Israeli problem and proves himself to be a master politician. He is described as a selfish and willful
person, a spellbinding orator who will arrogantly exalt himself. He has no religious faith … an atheist … will
oppose the Jewish religion in particular…especially the hope that Messiah will
return and deliver them from their enemies. He has a successful career until the
Tribulation ends with the return of Jesus Christ to set up His kingdom. There will be military opposition, but he
will overcome his enemies and acquire great wealth as a result.
*Armageddon v. 44-45 … last 3 ½ yrs. Nations will submit to the rule of
Antichrist but there will be growing dissent and opposition. The prophet
Zechariah promises that the nation of Israel will see their Messiah as He comes
from heaven, recognize, repent of their sins, trust Him and the nation will be
cleansed 12:10-13:1. Jesus will stand on
the Mt. of Olives 14:4, Acts 1:11-12 “and the Lord shall be kind over all the
earth 14:9 and will establish His glorious kingdom for a thousand years. Rev. 10:1-7
The basic interpretation seems to be that there will be a literal kingdom
on earth with Jesus Christ as King and His people reigning with Him.
2. THOUSAND YEARS/MILENNENIUM…The kingdom…
Resurrection v.1 of the human bodies…not reconstruction! The Lord does not put back together the body
that has turned to dust…resurrection body is a new and glorious body. The relationship between the body that is
buried and the body that is raised is like that of a see to the mature
plant. There is continuity (the plant
comes from the seed) but not identity (the plant is not identical to the
seed). The burial of a body is like the
planting of a seed, and the resurrection is the harvest. (Wiersbe)
Reward v. 3 BEMA – During the 1,000 reign on earth, we will share in
whatever work He has for us to do, according to how we have lived for Him and
served Him here on earth.
3. Final instructions to Daniel v.
4-13 A SEALED book – the full meaning of
what Daniel wrote would not be understood until “the time of the end (Matt.
24:15) The book of Revelations (which
John was told to leave Unsealed) is better understood by Daniel’s book.
*The times…2 more angels arrived on the scene…one on each side of the
Tigris River. V. 5-7 declared as 3 ½
years. The Tribulation period is a time
for punishing the Gentile nations for the way they have sinned against the Jews
(Joel 3:2-8) … It is also a time for sifting and purging Israel and preparing
the Jews for the return of their Messiah (Amos 9:9-12).
We are promised that all these things would be clearer for those living
in the end times, which is an encouragement for us to prayerfully study the
prophetic Scriptures. (II Tim. 3:13) The
wicked will become more wicked and the wise will become wiser. Daniel died without understanding all of it,
but he will rise again to receive his reward as a faithful servant.
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