The Prophet Daniel : The Time of Visitation

In 606 BC, Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon invaded and conquered Jerusalem. As a result of this activity, God's chosen people were once again into captivity, half remained in Jerusalem and the other half were taken to Babylon. Among those who were taken to Babylon was Daniel. The Babylonians selected Daniel to be trained in all of the wisdom and knowledge of the Babylonian Empire and then to serve as Royal Advisers to Nebuchadnezzar. The length of the stay in Babylon for Daniel and the rest of the captives was to last seventy years, the length of time prophesied by Jeremiah (Jeremiah 25:11) Jeremiah's prophecy was very specific, naming Nebuchanedzzar as the ruler of Babylon at the time. Daniel fulfilled his obligations to the Babylonian ruler and in the 69th year. While Daniel prayed for forgiveness of his sins, he received a prophecy from God (Daniel 9:24-27) which described the coming of the Messiah.

Daniel 9:24-27 Seventy sevens are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgressions, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy.

Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, there will be seven sevens and sixty-two sevens. It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble. After sixty-two sevens, the Anointed One will be cut off and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end and desolation have been decreed. He will confirm a covenant with many for one seven. In the middle of the seven, he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing of the temple, he will set up an abomination that causes desolation until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.

The first part of this passage describes the year of Jesus' ministry. From the starting date, agreed upon as 445 BC, to the end of the restoration of Jerusalem is 49 years (seven sevens = 7 times 7 or 49, a Biblical year is only 360 days) and the sixty-nine sevens equals 483 Biblical years. At the end of the 483 Biblical years, the Anointed One will be cut off and will have nothing. On May 7, AD 32, Jesus entered Jerusalem on a foal, 483 Biblical years after the completion of the rebuilding of Jerusalem.

The second part of this passage describes the beginning of the end times. The person "He" refers to the Antichrist who entered the temple and enters into a seven-year agreement which is described as the Tribulation. This is an excellent example of the prophecy of the first and Second Coming of the Messiah. Notice that there are no times or dates associated with the second part of Daniel's prophecy. That date is know only to God. Next week we will continue with the Old Testament prophecies of the End Times.

Donn Adams

The prophet Daniel is one of four Major Prophets in Hebrew scripture, along with Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. Daniel in the Lions' Den is a favorite Bible story for children. In addition, the captivating prophecy, imagery, and symbolism make the Book of Daniel one of the most read of the Old Testament.

The Book of Daniel is unusual in that it takes its name from the hero of the book, Daniel, a young Jewish prophet who lived in Babylon during the Babylonian captivity, which began in 597 BC. The prophet Ezekiel, who wrote his prophecy in Babylon about the same time, mentioned three Biblical figures in a row as men of righteousness, Noah, Daniel, and Job (Ezekiel 14:14 and 14:20).

The Book of Daniel is rich in imagery. Chapters 1-6 refer to the great Kings of Persia. Chapter 6 describes Daniel in the Lions' Den. Chapters 7-12 reveal the angels Gabriel and Michael in the apocalyptic visions. Daniel 12:2 is one of the rare passages in the Old Testament that refers to the Resurrection of the Dead. Chapters 13-14 relate the beautiful story of Susanna, and mention the prophet Habakkuk in the vignette on Bel and the Dragon.

The Book of Daniel serves as the only apocalyptic Book of the Old Testament, as Chapters 7-12 foretell the End Times. The great nations of the world have risen against Yahweh; but God's Kingdom shall overthrow existing powers and last forever. Jesus, in calling himself the "Son of Man," reminds us that he fulfills the destiny of the mysterious figure in Chapter Seven of the Book of Daniel.

An extraordinary prophecy occurs in Daniel 9:24-27, where the actual time is given for the death of the Messiah! A week of years is seven years, and seventy weeks of years would be 490 years. This corresponds roughly from the time of Daniel to the time of Jesus! Chapter Two of the Book of Nehemiah related King Artaxerxes of Persia issued a decree to rebuild Jerusalem. This occurred in 444 BC. It was seven weeks and sixty-two weeks, or 483 years, before the Messiah (anointed one) would be "cut off." Making the adjustment for the 360-day year, this would approximate the time of the crucifixion of Jesus!

The textual problems encountered in the Book of Daniel in a sense are representative of the entire Old Testament. The author and time of writing are unknown, the book is written in three different languages, and the actual text varies with each of our four extant versions: the Greek Septuagint assembled in Alexandria, the Dead Sea Scrolls uncovered in Qumran, the Masoretic text, and the Peshitta, the Aramaic Bible of the ancient Church of the East!

Chapter 1-2:3 and Chapters 8 through 12 were written in Hebrew; nearly half of the Book of Daniel - Chapters 2:4 through Chapter 7 - was written in Aramaic; and Chapters 13-14 were written in Greek.

The first complete version of Hebrew scripture was composed in the third century BC in Alexandria and was actually written in Greek, known as the Septuagint.

Following the Roman destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in 70 AD, the rabbinical school of the Pharisees in Jamnia (also known as Jabneh or Yavneh) became a center of religious thought. Faced with the rapid emergence of Christianity and the affinity of the early Christians for the Greek Septuagint, they affirmed the books traditional to Judaism. Jamnia used 4 criteria to determine which books should be retained for the canon of Hebrew scripture: the book had to conform to the Pentateuch; it could not have been written after the time of Ezra (circa 400 BC); it had to be written in Hebrew; and it had to be written in Palestine. Jamnia accepted 10 books less than the Greek Septuagint Old Testament. The Masoretic Text developed from the fifth through tenth century reflected the Hebrew canon of Jamnia. (See the Canon for a more complete discussion).

Even though half of Daniel was composed in Aramaic, Jamnia retained all of the book except the Song of the Three Young Men (3:24-90) and the Appendix - Chapters 13, which contained the beautiful story of Susanna, as well as Chapter 14 about Bel and the Dragon.

The time of composition is also a matter of debate. Whereas modern historical-critical methods suggest it was written in the second century BC, the very fact that Jamnia included the Book confirms that Hebrew tradition placed the Book as written before 400 BC!

Article Source