All my life I’ve heard about (and been interested in) biblical prophecy about the end times. There are numerous books and sermons available about it. For years people have tried to find clues from the Bible about the end of the world and have sought to match up their interpretations with current events. Such pursuits can be fun and intriguing, but it’s best to maintain a broader perspective and not get caught up in the minute details.

I believe in the return of Jesus and God’s final judgment on the world. It is worth noting (and will likely be a future study) that Jesus himself spoke about his return in Matthew 24, saying “when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates,” and “then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” But he also said, later in the same chapter, “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” It’s as if Jesus was saying to look for the signs of his coming, but don’t get caught up in trying to forecast it down to a specific day. Daniel 9 is very interesting in light of these thoughts. Daniel reads God’s Word and recognizes that a fulfillment of prophecy is about to unfold during his near future and he begins preparations for it. Likewise, God then gives him a vision to pass on to future generations about God’s planned fulfillments in their times. Later, we’ll encounter another vision from Daniel that applies even to and possibly beyond our generation (Chapter 12).

When reading the prophetic books of the Bible, I like to take time to think about the human side of things concerning the prophets. In other words, what was their life like, the circumstances in which they lived, and so on. I find it interesting that Daniel, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel were all somewhat contemporaries with each other. They were all writing around the time of the exile of the Jews by Babylon. Jeremiah wrote first, then Ezekiel and Daniel. Daniel and Ezekiel were both part of the exile predicted by Jeremiah, but all their lives and circumstances overlapped a bit. I mention Ezekiel here just because he is a contemporary of Daniel and he recognized that God held Daniel in high regard. Ezekiel invoked Daniel’s name twice in his book by comparing Daniel’s wisdom and right standing before God with that of Noah and Job (Ezekiel 14 and 28).

It’s Jeremiah’s writing that I want to focus on, though. Jeremiah wrote (in Jeremiah 25):

“The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah (that was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the people of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem: ‘For twenty-three years, from the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, to this day, the word of the LORD has come to me, and I have spoken persistently to you, but you have not listened. You have neither listened nor inclined your ears to hear, although the LORD persistently sent to you all his servants the prophets, saying, ‘Turn now, every one of you, from his evil way and evil deeds, and dwell upon the land that the LORD has given to you and your fathers from of old and forever. Do not go after other gods to serve and worship them, or provoke me to anger with the work of your hands. Then I will do you no harm.’ Yet you have not listened to me, declares the LORD, that you might provoke me to anger with the work of your hands to your own harm. Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts: Because you have not obeyed my words, behold, I will send for all the tribes of the north, declares the LORD, and for Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants, and against all these surrounding nations. I will devote them to destruction, and make them a horror, a hissing, and an everlasting desolation. Moreover, I will banish from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the grinding of the millstones and the light of the lamp. This whole land shall become a ruin and a waste, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. Then after seventy years are completed, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity, declares the LORD, making the land an everlasting waste. I will bring upon that land all the words that I have uttered against it, everything written in this book, which Jeremiah prophesied against all the nations. For many nations and great kings shall make slaves even of them, and I will recompense them according to their deeds and the work of their hands.”

Jeremiah’s prophecy said that Nebuchadnezzar would conquer Judah and Judah’s inhabitants would be deported to Babylon. Those who were deported included a young Daniel and Ezekiel. Then, after they were deported, Jeremiah composed a letter to be sent to the exiles in Babylon (Jeremiah 29).

“These are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders of the exiles, and to the priests, the prophets, and all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. This was after King Jeconiah and the queen mother, the eunuchs, the officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the metal workers had departed from Jerusalem. The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. It said: ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams that they dream, for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name; I did not send them, declares the LORD. For thus says the LORD: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. For 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. 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 have driven you, declares the LORD, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.“

You might have recognized the verse toward the end of this letter that says, “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.” This is a popular verse for people today to claim as their assurance that God his their best interests in mind. Admittedly, He does, but Daniel and his fellow believers were the original recipients and claimants of this promise!

In Daniel chapter 9, we find Daniel reflecting on these words from Jeremiah.

“In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, by descent a Mede, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans—”

Daniel was deported from Judah in 605 B.C. Babylon fell to the Medes in 539 B.C., which is when Darius would have been declared king over the Chaldeans (Babylonians). This is sixty-six years, which is getting close to the seventy-year time period predicted by Jeremiah.

“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, seventy years.“

Daniel recognized two critical elements from Jeremiah’s writing. First, it was getting close to the seventy years. Second, the great Babylonians have been conquered. These two events set Daniel into motion.

“Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. I prayed to the LORD my God and made confession, saying, ‘O 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 have 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.”

In his prayer, Daniel is acknowledging what Jeremiah had written – that the sins of Israel were the reason for God’s judgment on them. Note that Daniel is willing to include himself as part of the collective “we have sinned” statements. He continues:

“To you, O 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, 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 have 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 servants 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 have sinned against him.”

Daniel also acknowledges that nothing that has happened to Israel should come as a shock to them because it is exactly what God had promised in his word. For example, in Deuteronomy 28 and 29, God outlines all the blessings that will be given Israel if they follow His commands, and all that will happen to them if they disobey God. Then Moses sums it up in Deutronomy 30:1-3 with, “And when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the LORD your God has driven you, and return to the LORD your God, you and your children, and obey his voice in all that I command you today, with all your heart and with all your soul, then the LORD your God will restore your fortunes and have mercy on you, and he will gather you again from all the peoples where the LORD your God has scattered you.“

Daniel’s prayer continues:

“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 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.“

Now that Daniel has completely confessed and acknowledged the sins of the nation, he turns his prayer to a plea for mercy from God.

“O 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, O our God, listen to the prayer of your servant and to his pleas for mercy, 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, and the city that is called by your name.”

Daniel concludes with a critical acknowledgement – that his plea for mercy is not because he and his people deserve it. His plea is for God’s name to be restored and honored in the people who God called.

“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.”

Daniel’s plea hinges on his desire for God’s name to be uplifted and rightly honored by his people so that God’s name will be glorified in the world. Moses told the Israelites in Deuteronomy 4:4-8 the reason God desires his people to live in obedience to him. “But you who held fast to the LORD your God are all alive today. See, I have taught you statutes and rules, as the LORD my God commanded me, that you should do them in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the LORD our God is to us, whenever we call upon him? And what great nation is there, that has statutes and rules so righteous as all this law that I set before you today?“

God wants His people to accurately represent Him to the eyes of the world. When we don’t do that, we are not faithful ambassadors of the kingdom of God and people are not drawn toward it because of us. To paraphrase Daniel – “Shame on us.” We are to be God’s witnesses to the world, both through our words and through our actions.

Chapter 9 of Daniel continues with the vision that Daniel had after confessing the sins of the nation. We’ll look at that vision next time!