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--- daniel_s_seventy_weeks [2024/10/26 14:17] – appledog
+++ daniel_s_seventy_weeks [2024/12/31 15:37] (current) – appledog
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 Christians claim that Jesus has to be the messiah because the messiah has to come back before the second temple was destroyed.
-== Explanation
+== Context
-=== Context
 In order to understand this passage, we begin with Daniel 9:1:
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-==== Prophecy A
+=== Prophecy A
 The first prophecy, A, is that the Babylonian empire would collapse:
@@ Line 27: / Line 26: @@
 However, there is another part to this prophecy:
-==== Prophecy B
+=== Prophecy B
 Prophecy B is that God would return the exiled Jews back to Jerusalem:
 <blockquote>10 “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.<cite>Jeremiah 29:10 (ESV)</cite></blockquote>
+== Daniel's Essential Mistake
+Daniel's mistake was that he calculated the prophecy from the rise of the Babylonian Empire, which rose up 19 years before the destruction of the first temple. This will be explained in a different way in Gabriel's response, where we note that it was fifty years (seven weeks) from the destruction of the first temple to the building of the second.
-=== Daniel's Prayer
+== Daniel's Prayer
 Daniel's connundrum appears in his prayer, from Daniel 9:3-19. Specifically, he references the Law of Moses, and likely quotes Ezekiel who was a contemporary prophet:
@@ Line 60: / Line 61: @@
 Given Daniel's prayer, it seems as if Daniel was concerned that Israel did not 'seek Him wholeheartedly', and thus, was liable for the punishment in Leviticus 26:17-18.
-=== Gabriel's Response
+=== Aside: How does Daniel reference Ezekiel?
-In response to Daniel's prayer, God sends the angel Gabriel to educate Daniel on his question:
+Comparison of Daniel 9:11-13 and Ezekiel
+Daniel's prayer (Daniel 9:11-13) emphasizes:
+* Israel’s disobedience to God’s law.
+* The curses and judgments written in the Law of Moses (e.g., Deuteronomy 28 and Leviticus 26).
+* A plea for understanding the calamities that have fallen upon the people.
+In contrast, Ezekiel often speaks of:
+* Israel's rebellion (e.g., Ezekiel 2:3-7, 18:1-32).
+* The consequences of their sins (e.g., Ezekiel 5:5-17, 14:12-23).
+* A call to repentance and restoration.
+Both Daniel and Ezekiel focus on the same covenantal framework and consequences, but Daniel specifically ties his reflections to “the law of Moses” (Daniel 9:11), whereas Ezekiel frequently addresses God's direct word to him as a prophet.
+==== Influences and Parallels
+===== Themes in Ezekiel and Daniel:
+Both books emphasize God’s justice in allowing exile and judgment due to covenant unfaithfulness.
+Daniel's language, "the curse and the oath that are written in the law of Moses" (Daniel 9:11), aligns with the general tone of Ezekiel’s prophetic warnings of judgment.
+===== Shared Context:
+Ezekiel and Daniel were contemporaries (both lived during the Babylonian exile), so it is possible that Daniel was aware of Ezekiel's prophetic ministry. Their shared historical and theological context explains the overlap in themes and language.
+===== Paraphrase Rather Than Direct Quote:
+Daniel’s words reflect a summation of prophetic messages rather than a verbatim citation of Ezekiel or any specific prophet. His focus is on the larger covenantal framework found in the Torah and echoed by multiple prophets, including Ezekiel.
+In summary, Daniel 9:11-13 paraphrases themes consistent with Ezekiel's prophecies but does not directly quote from Ezekiel. Instead, Daniel draws broadly from the prophetic tradition and the covenant curses outlined in the Torah.
+You said:
+=== Parallel Themes Analysis
+Several passages in Ezekiel parallel themes found in Daniel 9:11-13, particularly regarding Israel's disobedience, covenant violations, judgment, and God's faithfulness to His word. Below are some relevant passages from Ezekiel that resonate with Daniel's prayer:
+==== 1. Rebellion Against God
+* Ezekiel 2:3-7:
+** "Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me... The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn."
+This passage emphasizes Israel's rebellion against God, a theme Daniel reflects when confessing the people's sin and disobedience (Daniel 9:11).
+* Ezekiel 20:13-21:
+** "Yet the people of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness. They did not follow my decrees but rejected my laws."
+Ezekiel recounts Israel's history of rejecting God's laws, mirroring Daniel's acknowledgment that Israel "has transgressed Your law and turned aside, refusing to obey Your voice" (Daniel 9:11).
+==== 2. Judgment and Calamity
+* Ezekiel 5:5-17:
+** "This is what the Sovereign Lord says: This is Jerusalem, which I have set in the center of the nations, with countries all around her. Yet in her wickedness, she has rebelled against my laws... I will execute judgments on you in the sight of the nations."
+This passage reflects God's judgment on Jerusalem due to their rebellion, aligning with Daniel's reference to the "curse and oath" that have come upon Israel (Daniel 9:11-12).
+* Ezekiel 7:1-9:
+** "The end has come! The end has come upon the four corners of the land... I will repay you for your conduct and judge you for your detestable practices."
+Ezekiel's warning of impending calamity matches Daniel's acknowledgment that God brought disaster upon Israel "just as it is written in the Law of Moses" (Daniel 9:13).
+==== 3. God's Faithfulness to His Word
+* Ezekiel 12:25:
+** "But I the Lord will speak what I will, and it shall be fulfilled without delay."
+This passage affirms God’s faithfulness to His word, whether in promises or curses, a key theme in Daniel 9:12, where Daniel acknowledges that God has "confirmed His words."
+* Ezekiel 14:12-23:
+** "Son of man, if a country sins against me by being unfaithful and I stretch out my hand against it... I will bring famine upon it and cut off its supply of food."
+This section reflects God's consistent and righteous judgment upon those who violate His covenant.
+==== 4. Call to Repentance and Hope
+* Ezekiel 18:30-32:
+** "Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall... Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed and get a new heart and a new spirit."
+Daniel's prayer (Daniel 9:13) implicitly echoes this call for repentance, as he reflects on Israel's failure to turn from sin and seek God's mercy.
+==== 5. The Covenant and Its Consequences
+* Ezekiel 16:59-63:
+** "This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will deal with you as you deserve, because you have despised my oath by breaking the covenant."
+Ezekiel highlights covenant violations and their consequences, a central theme in Daniel’s prayer (Daniel 9:11-12).
+These passages from Ezekiel provide a theological and historical backdrop that aligns closely with Daniel’s confession in Daniel 9:11-13. Both prophets address Israel’s sin, the resulting judgment, and God’s ultimate faithfulness to His covenant promises.
+== Gabriel's Response
+In response to Daniel's prayer, God sends the angel Gabriel to educate Daniel on his question.
 <blockquote>21 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.
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 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.<cite>Daniel 9-21-23 (ESV)</cite></blockquote>
-Gabriel thus issues his response to Daniel. The response can be broken up into three parts:
+Gabriel thus issues his response to Daniel. The response can be broken up into five parts:
-==== 1. The seventy weeks Overview
+=== 1. The seventy weeks Overview
 Daniel 9:24.
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 # To anoint a holy place ( A temple; a holy of holies )
-==== 2. The First Seven Weeks
+=== 2. The First Seven Weeks
 Daniel 9:25.
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+=== 5. The Return of the Messiah
+Now that the temple has been destroyed, the messiah can come. What is the meaning of this odd statement? Read the above in careful detail; Recall that the temple must be destroyed **before** the Messiah can come because one of the roles of the Messiah is that he must rebuild the temple; this was revealed by Ezekiel, a contemporaneous prophet with Daniel:
-Recall that the temple must be destroyed **before** the Messiah can come because one of the roles of the Messiah is that he must rebuild the temple; this was revealed by Ezekiel, a contemporaneous prophet with Daniel:
 <blockquote>24 “My servant David shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd. They shall walk in my rules and be careful to obey my statutes.
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 === What happens next?
 <blockquote><cite></cite></blockquote>
-Gabriel continues with the explanation of the timeline:
-* 25 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.
-This is the explanation part, so Gabriel says, "Know therefore and understand...". This is the part Daniel doesn't understand: There will be seven weeks between the word to restore and build Jerusalem
- Then for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again[e] with squares and moat, but in a troubled time. 26 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[f] end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war. Desolations are decreed. 27 And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week,[g] and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator.”
 <blockquote><cite></cite></blockquote>
 <blockquote><cite></cite></blockquote>