Sept 21 with addendum

Vast numbers of books have been written on Daniel 9 and his Seventy Sevens. I will show you how the dates may work out "to the very day" from the decree to rebuild Jerusalem until Christ comes riding into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. First a few exciting points to ponder. I can't possible do it justice, but we'll give it a whirl here. This will be a long one. Hang in there! (I won't even touch on the hand writing on the wall...there is so much to comment on!)

Daniel, at his ripe age of 80 something, having spent most of his life in captivity in Babylon and having only very distant memories of beloved Israel, searches the scriptures and finds exciting news. Only a few more years of captivity are left! (Jer 25:8-12 and Jer 29:8-14). This drives Daniel immediately to prayer of confession for his people. I found a marvelous modern day equivelant of his prayer by Minster Joe Wright who was asked to open the Kansas Senate in prayer:

Heavenly Father, we come before You today to ask Your forgiveness and seek Your direction and guidance. Lord, we know Your Word says, "Woe to those who call evil good," but that's exactly what we've done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and inverted our values.
We confess that we have ridiculed the absolute truth of Your Word and called it moral pluralism.
We have worshipped other gods and called it multi-culturalism.
We have endorsed perversion and called it an alternative lifestyle.
We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery.
We have neglected the needy and called it self-preservation.
We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.
We have killed our unborn and called it choice.
We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable.
We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building esteem.
We have abused power and called it political savvy.
We have coveted our neighbors' possessions and called it ambition.
We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression.
We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our fore-fathers and called it enlightenment.
Search us oh God and know our hearts today; try us and see if there be some wicked way in us; cleanse us from every sin and set us free.
Guide and bless these men and women who have been sent here by the people of Kansas, and who have been ordained by You, to govern this great state. Grant them Your wisdom to rule and may their decisions direct us to the center of Your will. I ask it in the name of Your Son, the Living Savior, Jesus Christ.

Wow! He thought he might get a 'call or two' about his prayer. His staff quit counting at 6,500 (overwhelmingly positive).

Daniel got an even more overwhelming response to his prayer- a visit from Gabriel! (at the 'time of the evening sacrifice' which was 3pm, the same time that Jesus died-by the way). While Daniel is focused on the restoration of the Lord's desolate sanctuary and city in 7 years, God brings him a message of SEVENTY sevens.

It is not expounded on in the text, but we are not told that Daniel is confused and ill this time by the vision. I presume he understands the whole thing (he is told 3 times to understand it). A lot has to happen these seventy sevens (or 490 years)

• Daniel's people and holy city (Israelites and Jerusalem) finish trangression (do the words 'It is finished" ring in your mind?)
• put an end to sin
• atone for wickedness
• bring in everlasting righteousness
• seal up vision and prophecy 
• annoint the most holy

( Of course, it is difficult to imagine that we have an end to sin since we are still living in a sinful world. But Jesus did atone for it and pay the penatly and cancel it's power by bringing His righteousness).Daniel is told some more specifics about the timing. Jerusalem will be rebuilt first, but in times of trouble (see Nehamiah). And "from the issuing of the decree to restore and build Jerusalem until the Anointed One, it will be seven 'sevens' and sixty two 'sevens'". That makes 69 sevens or 483 years. The decree given by king Ataxerxes in Nehemiah 2 in March 14,445BC + 483 prophetic years brings us to April 6, 32 AD. *It is on that day that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey (in fulfillment of Zech 9:9).  They should have known this was all in fulfillment of prophecy:
 Luke 19:41-44 As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, "If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God's coming to you."

 (See the chart larger on the website with video explaination* and yes, I checked their doctrinal statement)

Daniel goes on to learn that after all this the Annointed One will be cut off and will have nothing. I've read that the Hebrew word used here is 'karath'. I means to cut down or kill and is the same word used in Lev 7:27 for the death penalty and also 'cutting' a covenant. And of course, that is exactly what happened to the Annointed One. That takes care of 69 or the 70 sevens. Many people know feel we are living in what they call the 'gap period'. Between the 69th and 70th week. Then in the last and final seven is the tribulation. It is a lot to try and comprehend! There is even more in the text but we will try to touch on some of it as we study Jesus quoting Daniel in the NT.

http://endtimepilgrim.org/70wks6.htm
*I can't make the math work myself (but I rarley can make math work!) I'll point you to this website that explains it I've seen others work it with a 444 BC date for the declaration and a 33 AD Palm Sunday date. No matter how you figure it, the Messiah has ALREADY COME!!


ADDENDUM: If you follow this link and watch the youtube video associated with it, you may realize that it is "part 4" and you may see a lot of other youtube videos at the end and try to watch the other parts. I accidently got on a Seventh Day Adventist video. If you try to watch the other videos in THIS series (and I high reccomend that you do!) make sure it is from GAVIN FINLEY. It has been really hard to find a site to link to that is theologically sound, so don't get lost!! If you start at the beginning of the videos, it all makes sense (even to my math challenged brain!!)