316: Tim Badger - We Have Sinned (Dan. 9)

Automatically transcribed. Accuracy is good but not perfect, and words are sometimes wrong. Trust the audio over the text.

1. 0:13

   Welcome to good Chris Selfian talks. I’m Levi, I’m Chris, I’m Jason, and I’m Brian. Thank you for joining us this week on this podcast. We select one talk a week to help us get the Bible in our Daily News feed. Each week we post a talk that we previewed from suggestions sent in by listeners from around the world. Then we record a short intro beforehand as a personalized recommendation to you on why we are sharing the talk. And now let’s talk more about this week’s talk. Hello and welcome back.

2. 0:51

   This is brother Chris back to share with you another talk this week. We’re listening to a class that was given back in 2001 by Brother Tim Badger at the Suburban Young People’s Weekend where he was looking at the subject along with some other speakers at the topic of Daniel. And in this class he was looking at some examples taken from Daniel Chapter 9, specifically looking at Daniel and the 70 week prophecy that Daniel receives in Daniel Chapter 9.

3. 1:28

   And I found both the second-half of the classes where he really dives into the 70 week prophecy and the detail and the little nuances in it. Brother Tim does a great job of bringing all of that out and really digging into it. It was awesome and really encouraging. It’s a topic that I know I’ve looked at before, but it’s always exciting to hear it spelled out so eloquently as brother Tim does. Just really makes it super engaging and amazing to witness. And just how it must have felt to Daniel to get that 70 week prophecy and then how it feels to us to be able to look back and see that prophecy having been fulfilled over time. He also makes a really powerful point at the beginning of the class that I want you to pay attention to, and that’s talking about making a confession like Daniel and just talking about how powerful it is for someone like Daniel, who we look up to as being one of these great men of faith, how powerful his confession was to God.

4. 2:27

   And he has all sorts of really cool Nuggets about how it ties in what we’re reading about in Daniel Chapter 9 and other parts of the story of Daniel that I just found to be super, super encouraging. This was one that was made as a recommendation. It actually was recommended several years ago, shortly after it was given in 2021.

5. 2:43

   So it’s taking us a little bit to get to this one, and I’m sorry it took us so long to get to it because this is an awesome class. I really, really enjoy it and I hope that you find it to be encouraging that you take some comfort and some encouragement from the court of revealing that brother Tim does of the 70 week prophecy.

6. 3:01

   And also just some really actionable advice from looking at Daniel as a practical application study that we can use in our walk. So I hope that this encourages you and that you find it to be uplifting in your walk. And with that, I’m going to turn it over to our brother Tim Badger for his class based on Daniel Chapter 9 entitled We Have Sinned. Well, good evening.

7. 3:24

   It’s exciting to be here. The excitement for me lies obviously in the chapter that we have in front of us, Daniel Chapter 9. And if I’m honest, I’ve never really spent a lot of time with this chapter until preparing for your theme on Daniel this year, the young people. I believe that this has a relevant and a timely message for us living in, as I think Brad explained, as we are in the last days we’ve had, it showed to us already tonight that God is in total. Control.

8. 3:58

   Of every historical event, and he’s fulfilling his will and his purpose in everything that his plans have been made to do from the beginning of time. And the message from Daniel Chapter 9 is no different. And yet what this chapter does, young people tonight is bring into sharp relief our need for the Lord Jesus Christ. And we do that through a man who didn’t really see the clear picture of Christ.

9. 4:28

   He saw him in shadow. He saw a need in the future for his people. But in Daniel Chapter 9, Gabriel, who’s the very same Angel that announces to Mary so long later that she’s going to give birth to the Messiah who will take care of the sins of the nation, it’s that same Angel who shows up and interrupts Daniel’s prayer, a prayer that’s a total confession of sin, telling God he needs God’s forgiveness. The people do.

10. 4:59

    The land does, the sanctuary does in Daniel Chapter 9. So what we want to do is just look at the two parts of this amazing chapter in what’s revealed to Daniel. The first part of the chapter is obviously his prayer, and that prayer gets interrupted, obviously in verse 20. So there’s two parts to this whole story in Daniel Chapter 9, and you cannot separate them. The first part is his prayer and then he’s interrupted verse 20. Look what it says.

11. 5:30

    And I was always speaking. Praying and confessing my sin and the sins of my people, Israel, and presenting my supplication before Yahweh, my God, for the holy mountain of my God. Yes, and he kind of makes this really emphatic, right? He’s he’s telling this in retrospect, the story that happened to him. He says, right when I was in the middle of my prayer and pouring at my heart and my supplication, not for me only, but for my people, yes, well, I was speaking in my prayer or in prayer. The man Gabriel, who had seen, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning being caused to fly, swiftly reached me about the time of the evening offering. And what happens from this point forward, young people, is the answer to Daniel’s prayer.

12. 6:18

    And you might think, well, that’s weird because Daniel’s praying for forgiveness of the sins of Israel and sins of the people and all of these kind of hardships that they’ve been through. He confesses that it’s because of their sin. And Gabriel comes and says to Daniel, and this is the big picture of the chapter.

13. 6:33

    Daniel, you have no idea what you’re asking for and how it will be fulfilled because what Daniel is told in this chapter, young people as we begin to pick it apart and. Feel the the the strength of the message is this Daniel is told that the sins that he bears and you might think of Daniel as a sort of a pretty godly man, but he confesses his own sins in relation and with the sins of his people.

14. 7:03

    Daniel’s told the answer to your sins, Daniel and the sins of Israel is still 490 years away, over 490 years away. And that’s where the prophecy comes in. We call it in verse 24, the 70 weeks. Prophecy now that’s what we want to do tonight. We want to look at how is prayer is related to this prophecy young people and it has all of the.

15. 7:30

    Power to convince us that the Bible is amazingly true, but it goes well beyond that. And tonight we’re going to see that God is not only in control of world events like you’ve seen in the last study, He’s not only control of the things going on in Afghanistan. As hard as that is for our brothers and sisters to grapple with at the moment there or who have fled there, not only is God control in control of Russia and America, not only is he in control of all the leaders of the world, the real message that comes out of here for Daniel and for you tonight is that he is in control of the sins that sometimes overwhelm your life. And that’s what Daniel’s going to powerfully see. And what I want you to do this evening, young people, is to go home tonight not only thinking about fulfilled Bible prophecy and prophecy sure to be fulfilled shortly, but I want you to realize that God told Daniel so long ago that your sins are totally in God’s control. Let’s see how that works out in the life of Daniel. Come to Chapter 9, verse one.

16. 8:51

    I want to briefly tonight paint a picture of the attitude that Daniel has in his prayer. We’re not going to go through it verse by verse. We’re not going to dissect it, but I want to show you some principles that come out of his. Prayer and I want you to think about your own prayer and your own sins and your attitude towards sin.

17. 9:11

    Daniel Chapter 9. We find this in the first year of Darius, the son of the Hajwares of the lineage of the Medes, who was made king of the realm of the Chaldeans in the first year of his reign. I Daniel understood by the books the number of the years specified by the word of the Lord through Jeremiah the Prophet that he would accomplish 70 years of in the desolations of Jerusalem.

18. 9:39

    Now make sure you get the context of Daniel Chapter 9. Daniel is a Bible student and by that, as you will quickly see, that is not an academic term. Daniel is a Bible student in the sense of wanting to know what God says and what God wants of him and what God will do and to align his life with that.

19. 10:06

    Daniel was not studying the bit the dates of Bible prophecy merely for clever academic interest, is he the dates of Bible prophecy in the 70 years described by Jeremiah the prophet and Daniel was going back over those scrolls in the. Books looking and trying to figure out how it aligned and where he sat and he suddenly realized and he knew that he was right at the end of the 70 years captivity that Jeremiah had spoken about. And the. 1st.

20. 10:35

    Thing Jeremiah does? Sorry, the first thing Daniel does after studying Bible prophecy is he throws himself on his face. And spreads his hands out to his God in prayer because of what the prophecy means for him and his people. Why you be impressed by that young people that Daniel was a serious Bible student?

21. 11:01

    It’s true, isn’t it, when we think about it, and we’re doing it through the course of Daniel, off and on as the prophecies arise through the book. It’s true that a huge part of the Bible is made-up of prophecy. A. Massive percentage of it. And you sort of think, well, then there must be a sense in which God is intending us to read that prophecy.

22. 11:19

    He’s preserved it for us and to study it carefully. But the study has to bring us to our knees. In realizing that God is in control, in realizing that God has got a purpose and a plan, and in realizing that God wants us part of that purpose. And plan. And that’s what happens when we study the prophets, both Old and in New Testament, especially the Book of Revelation.

23. 11:48

    It has the power to convict you and me. Of righteousness, of following God, of realizing that this world is passing by, it’s nothing, and God’s got a total plan according to Strict. Guidelines and dates that he’s set down, especially told to us in the book of Daniel and the Book of Revelation. And it’s all happening.

24. 12:11

    And that brings us to our knees, realizing that we need God, and He’s the one that can also. Can take control of our personal lives and sins. And so Daniel starts off as prayer in verse four and it’s beautiful. Look, look at this prayer and I prayed to Yahweh my God. And the first thing we know about this prayer is ultimately this is a prayer of confession. And we want to talk about what that means for us in a moment, but just get a little bit of a taste of his reverence and attitude towards God.

25. 12:54

    Oh Lord, great and awesome God who keeps covenant and mercy with those who love him and with those who keep his commandments. We have sinned. You know, those words we won’t unpack tonight are full of rich meaning of those who have gone before. Moses speaks of words like that and Daniel’s drawing on those words.

26. 13:20

    Solomon in the dedication of the Temple, significantly the dedication of the temple in First Kings 8 uses those words. And here Daniel concerned about the destruction of the temple and hopefully God’s soon renewal of it as the 70. Years come to a close, Harkins back to all those faithful prayers. But young people, just reflect tonight on your own prayers as you love the example of Daniel, as you love his passion and his spirit.

27. 13:52

    I want you to love his prayer and his attitude in prayer. This is a careful, sincere prayer. It’s highly reverent of God, and not just in the wording, but the actual feeling and sentiment that you can see here. That’s the key. And he appeals to what God has promised and said in the past. This is Daniel’s example and we love it. You know, as you go through this prayer, it’s pointed out the most frequent thing that’s kind of pointed out in this prayer is the word we in verse 5.

28. 14:27

    And of course, if you don’t have that highlighted or something to make it stand out, it’s crucial to the sense of this entire prayer. All the way through this prayer, Daniel associates himself with the people, even though when we look at the life of Daniel, there’s nothing to think that he should be aligned with the people.

29. 14:47

    So why is it we have sinned? Why is it my sins and the sins of my people? This is Daniel the prophet, the beloved of God that we’re talking about. And so here’s what we find, young people, when we look at the spirit of Daniel, which we love and we want to follow.

30. 15:04

    In Daniel’s prayer, he never, although he could have, he never blames others for his situation. Nowhere in this prayer does Daniel condemn Israel and stand back apart from them as if he’s not part of Israel. He. Never makes himself better than others in this prayer. That’s not his attitude. Do you know young people?

31. 15:34

    That is a crucial attitude to bring to suburban young peoples. Fundamental to all that we do here is the fact that we are united as young people, some struggling more than others, absolutely, some at different stages in their life. Being able to provide leadership and godly direction and others which might be you at another stage in your life needing to follow and to be inspired by and strengthened by those examples.

32. 16:02

    But never, ever young people. See yourself as something apart from the young people of the Brotherhood, something different from suburban, something slightly apart, maybe slightly better. You are. All part. And so this is obviously a lesson to the entire brotherhood, right? But we’re young people and we’re speaking in in young people’s sort of context. This is true for me in ecclesial life. It’s true for our ecclesias here in Adelaide. It’s a true statement, attitude and feeling for the brotherhood worldwide.

33. 16:43

    We are in this together, we suffer together. When part of the body suffers, we feel it and we want to help, we want to empathize, we want to care, we want to build up. We want to be a Daniel. That’s so important, young people. And this is the spirit of the man who God greatly loves. Greatly.

34. 17:06

    Loves. And the Angel came and just told him that point blank. You are greatly beloved, Daniel, and it’s because of these attitudes in this prayer. Daniel never demands or expects anything on the basis of who he was. He’s an ordained prophet.

35. 17:26

    Or so on the basis of who he was in his personal situation in Babylon. He is. He has a high status in Babylon. He could have easily snubbed other Israelites from Babylon from a distance, from his high elevated position. He could have done that and he didn’t. He puts him right himself, right on the ground level with the rest of the young people in his CYC, and he’s there leading the way by confessing.

36. 17:54

    And seeing the need for reform where there was need. You see, in this prayer, young people, Daniel is acutely aware of sin. Not the sins of others, the sins collectively. And he hates sin.

37. 18:15

    But all the way through this prayer, you’ll find he is acutely aware of God’s mercy. God is the one you come to through confession, through acknowledging that he is righteous and right in everything he does. He’s the one you come to to appeal for mercy and forgiveness and help. This is the beautiful willingness of Daniel to share in the failings and the sufferings of others and not to stand apart as better, different or in a in another circumstance. You know, this is interesting young people as you go through there’s there’s all these words for sin through this prayer. It’s a pretty heavy going prayer right as you as you read through as you go.

38. 19:04

    Let let’s have a look at verse 70. Lord righteousness. Belongs to you. He’s constantly elevating God to His holy and righteous position because when we respect that, when Daniel knows and understands and feels the righteousness of God, he’s in a right place to understand the gravity of sin. And that’s what we need to respect God, to Revere him and to see he’s holy and righteous, helps us to highlight the gravity of sin in our own lives. And that’s not a negative thing, Young. People hold that hold that thought. Where that leads is crucially important. Oh Lord, righteousness belongs to you, but to us. Shame, facedness, as it is this day to the men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, all Israel, those near and those those near and those far off in the countries to which you have driven them, because of the unfaithfulness which which they have committed.

39. 20:03

    Against you unfaithfulness. He talks about shame, he talks about rebellion in this prayer. He talks about transgression, iniquity and sin. All these are heavy words. You sort of think, well, where is this going? How do how do we get out of this? But here’s an important principle, young people of Daniel’s prayer that has spoken to me a lot.

40. 20:25

    And that is this a crucial aspect of being a young. Person, and a disciple for that matter, is having an acute awareness of sin. And you might think, well that’s a that’s a negative thing to dwell on. And yet young people we find in Scripture, it’s not those faithful who are acutely aware of their own personal sins are those who are most acutely aware of the greatness and the profound depth of God’s mercy. And this is who you find in Daniel Chapter 9, the example of Daniel himself.

41. 21:14

    Do you know, I think it’s, it’s worth thinking about just for a little bit. And there’s a there’s some interesting things when we look at the world around us when it comes to sin. The interesting thing is there’s a. Book this idea of being aware, our consciousness, our consciousness of sin. In 1973, a book was written by a psychiatrist called Karl Menninger, and the title of the book is Whatever Became of Sin.

42. 21:39

    And he says in that book, he’s back in the 70s. Let’s just think about this and think about the context of the world we live in. Think about Daniel, how different he is from this. He says in the book the very word sin, which seems to have disappeared, was once a proud word. It was once a strong word, an ominous and serious word, but the word went away.

43. 21:59

    He says it’s almost disappeared, the word along with the notion, why don’t people sin anymore? Doesn’t anyone believe in sin? And you think, well, what is that talking about? But what’s super interesting young people, there’s this thing in the United States which is really, in a sense, really interesting to compare to Daniel Chapter 9.

44. 22:19

    There’s this thing in the United States that’s run by the American presidents called the National Day of Prayer. Donald Trump’s done it, Obama’s done it, and almost all of the US presidents have done it, where they get all of America, which is pretty substantial when you think about it. And they get, they call officially the whole nation, the whole nation to a day of prayer. This first happened during the Civil War, and the Senate of the United States asked Abraham Lincoln to call for a day of prayer.

45. 22:48

    Now you just listen to the language of the Senate during the Civil War in America. This is what they wrote to Abraham Lincoln. Think of the difference today. This is what they wrote. Whereas the Senate of the United States, devoutly recognizing the supreme authority and just government of Almighty God in all the affairs of men and of nations, has by a resolution requested the president to designate and set apart a day for national prayer and humiliation in America. Look at what the Senate says.

46. 23:20

    And whereas is the duty of nations as well as men to own their dependence upon the over ruling power of God? To confess their sins and transgressions in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon? And to recognize the sublime truth announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord. So at the end of this petition to Abraham Lincoln, the Senate of America says it behoves us then to humble ourselves before the offended power God, to confess our national sins and to pray for clemency and for forgiveness. You know it’s.

47. 24:01

    Really interesting young people. The last time the word sin was used in America’s National Day of Prayer was President Eisenhower in 1953. Things have cooled off a little bit with sin, or America’s Got a little bit sinless since Abraham Lincoln’s Day and their humble plea for pardon. As a nation, it’s a pretty amazing thing.

48. 24:31

    Barack Obama never mentioned it. He he refers to the fact that the others prayed for sin. But Barack Obama and his National Days of Prayer never actually prayed for sin. And you can guess that Donald Trump didn’t either. Although Donald Trump writes some pretty amazing prayers, but it’s always God be with us through COVID or whatever he wrote. And God be with the American military forces. Never does he confess the sins of American people. Now, what’s with that, young people? This is the sense society, the world around us can lose a sense of sin.

49. 25:07

    But when you lose a sense of sin. You gain a great sense of immorality. You lose your orientation and reckoning with God and your Maker that the sentiments of the American Senate. During the Civil War are far gone. They revered the God of Jacob and they honored the Holy One. That’s how they referred to him. And yet that’s all gone, young people. And you know, it’s interesting that in religion itself, people have noted the same thing in Protestant churches. I just want you to think about this in relation to Daniel CS Lewis wrote.

50. 25:44

    The barrier I’ve met in his preaching and evangelizing as a as a even as a preacher, the barrier I’ve met is that almost the total absent from the minds of my audience of any sense of sin. Interestingly, a lady wrote a book in 1995 when she analyzed a whole bunch of Protestant sermons on the parable of the prodigal son, and she says we should not be surprised to find that communicating notions of sin poses difficulties for many of the pastors.

51. 26:13

    As we’ve seen here, A closer examination of the sermons suggest the many ways which the concept of sin has been accommodated to fit secular sensibilities. In other words, this young people, the concept of sin has been eroded and almost lost in society, and it’s happening in the churches too. And yet when you come back to Daniel Chapter 9, it is the major focus of his prayer.

52. 26:37

    Why is that powerful? Well, young people, if we begin to minimize sin or push it aside, our awareness of it in our hatred of it in our life, then we soon become far from God. So the reason why God that Daniel is so greatly beloved young people is because he was so aware of his sin and he dumped it before God.

53. 27:03

    Sometimes it’s easy if you’re like me, to minimize sin in your life. Daniel did not. He laid it flat out before God. Sometimes, if you’re like me, it’s easy to just not think or or mention. Our sins. You know what it’s like if you’ve committed a sin. And you feel bad about it, but you never really get around to praying for it.

54. 27:25

    And eventually the shock or the disappointment with yourself wears off. And in the end you move on and, and maybe fall into that trap again. And what can happen is that sins never really fully brought to light, never really fully brought to God. We just kind of minimize it and it kind of goes away.

55. 27:44

    And the feeling of uncomfortableness disappears with. Time, Daniel says to us as young people, no, the way to reckon with sin in your life is to be so aware of it and to bring it to God. The idea here is confession of sin, young people, to confess our sins. And I want you to think about it, how important this concept is.

56. 28:12

    Now I want you to think in the light of the example of Daniel, how often you do this. When was the last time you put all the distractions aside, got down on your knees and put all your sins before God? When did you last do that? I mean seriously in the in the attitude, in the reverence and in the profound thinking that Daniel does.

57. 28:43

    You see, if you’re like me and you probably are, it’s so easy to deal with sin when we just say a quick prayer and say, oh Lord, I’ve failed again, I’ve stuffed up again, please forgive me and and I was wrong. That was bad and it’s over and you move on to something else, maybe praying for the Kingdom to come. Great.

58. 29:00

    But young people, when you stop and you and take this the right way, when you dwell on your sins and put them before God in the same sense and with urgency and and prayer and petition and supplication as Daniel does, that’s an essential first step. And maybe young people, maybe you’re struggling with.

59. 29:25

    Sin more than you need to. And maybe that’s because you haven’t actually really confessed it. Really confessed it. This is what we might call. A Daniel confession, not a quick one, not as you’re dozing off to sleep as your head’s already on your pillow, but on your knees by your bed. You’ve got problems with sin.

60. 29:50

    You’ve got problems with your girlfriend or your boyfriend going too far. You got problems with your phone, your computer. You got problems with all of those temptations. Get down on your knees and pray to God, young people, and confess your sins. Bring them into your awareness, not for the sake of leaving them there, but leaving them with God.

61. 30:11

    That’s what Daniel’s doing. See, young people, the message that’s coming out from Daniel’s prayer is that you can never feel in control of sin if you’re in control of them and you keep your sins to yourself. The whole message here of Israel is those sins had to be placed before God so he could take control of them. You will never do that if you keep them to yourself. You know the story of David, don’t you? And you know what Psalm 32 and Psalm 51 portray of a man who kept his sins to himself?

62. 30:49

    That’s no way to deal with sin. The The way to deal with sin, young people, is to confess to God. And that’s all I’m going to say about SIM tonight. That’s all we’re going to take from message of Daniel because that’s what he does. Always see him as we peer through his window. And you know, young people, if you look at the chronology of Daniel, this could be the very prayer that put him in the lion’s den.

63. 31:15

    This absolutely could have been the prayer. As you work through the chronology of Daniel, this could have been the very prayer. That he was caught for and slapped in the lion’s den in Daniel chapter 6. Because we know in Daniel chapter 6 this is 1 little line of evidence that he was supplicating to God and pouring out his prayer as he prayed. Towards Jerusalem.

64. 31:34

    That’s the very sense of this prayer in Daniel Chapter 9 for young people. Let’s be honest about our sin. Let’s not fake or even minimize it in our mind. And let it disappear. And you know, if we have that perspective, I can I feel like this is true. If you are a person that begins that habit and opens up your confessions to God and does it sincerely, you are far less likely to judge other. People, it’s true.

65. 32:09

    Because if you are aware of your own sins and you’re giving them over to God to control, and he might not take them away, young people, we know that he doesn’t suddenly make temptations disappear. But if you give your sins to God. You’re so much more aware of your need and so less likely to judge other people.

66. 32:32

    You need to believe that God is in control of sin. You know, just. Check out Chapter 9 verse 7 again. Just an interesting footnote on Daniel’s use of a word in Chapter 9, verse 7 to see in verse 7 it says we just find the word, Oh Lord, righteousness bunks to you, but just to our shame of face as it is this day.

67. 33:00

    The man of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, those near and those who are and those far off in all the countries to which you have driven them because of the unfaithfulness which they have committed to you. And I think I have the wrong verse. Where’s the word trespass? The word trespass.

68. 33:18

    Just scan your eyes down and see if you can help me out. Oh, in the king J, That’s right. I was going between King J. The word trespass is the Hebrew word to cover up or to act covertly. So the interesting thing is Daniel’s doing the opposite of that. He’s like, let’s uncover those sins.

69. 33:36

    Forget acting covertly, forget hiding them, forget pretending in your youth group that you’re all good, but you’re not. That’s the idea of trespass here is to cover up your own sins. The the great irony, young people, for us, the great profound truth is that when we uncover our sins, God will cover them. You will never cover your own sins. So stop trespassing and open them up to God. Don’t hold on to it.

70. 34:06

    Don’t pretend there’s no need to fake in our young people’s group. Do you know what Daniel shows us is that we need to align, and we can align our petition with God’s purpose. It’s not just what Daniel wanted, right? He keeps coming back to this idea that God’s holy. He wants his name to be centered back in Jerusalem and on his people and on his land.

71. 34:27

    Daniel’s whole prayer is aligned with wanting God’s purpose to continue, and in that context, he pours out his sin and he sins the people. It’s a deep desire to see God as right, and he hates sin. I wonder, young people. Over the last couple weeks, whether our life demonstrates one who does truly hate sin or whether we’ve become blindly unaware of sin in our life, let’s refocus on that because what this brings us to young people is the mercy of God.

72. 35:04

    Daniel keeps calling out for God’s mercy, and here we are in Daniel Chapter 9, verse 19. Here’s the conclusion of his prayer. I don’t know if you’ve ever yelled out to God before in your own personal prayer, ever cried out because things have been so hard, but here’s verse 19. Oh Lord, here, oh Lord, forgive, oh Lord, listen and act.

73. 35:31

    Do not delay for your own. Sakes, it’s not about Daniel. It’s about God’s sake, God’s glory. Do not delay for your own sake, my God, for your city and your people are called by your name. And that’s the attitude of Daniel. And so, young people, the extraordinary thing happens that the Angel comes to him at the time of the evening offering in verse 21.

74. 35:56

    Have you ever thought about that? That’s pretty odd. The time of the evening offering where, where is Daniel? Obviously he’s in Babylon. He’s nowhere near an altar or the temple. And yet Daniel can tell you that the Angel came at the time of the evening sacrifice, something embedded in the Law of Moses, something clearly part of what the temple does.

75. 36:20

    And yet he’s in Babylon. And what’s happening, young people, is because Daniel can’t offer sacrifices and offerings anymore under the law of Moses because the temple’s destroyed. He’s taken that moment of the evening sacrifice and used that every day to offer his confession to God for sin. No altar, no ram, no he goat, no Bullock, none of that.

76. 36:42

    But he uses that time to confess his sin to God and Gabriel comes and says, Daniel, I want you to understand this verse 23 at the beginning of your supplication, the command went out and I’ve come to tell you, for you are greatly beloved. Therefore, consider the matter and understand. This vision and here we go. What I want you to be really clear on young people is this right?

77. 37:08

    We are going to jump into and it’s really warm in. Here I don’t know if anyone else is feeling that too, but I am sweating like a pig, OK? So I hope it’s not too warm of you in here for you to work out what Daniel had to do at the time of the evening sacrifice. And that is the Angel said to him, listen and understand now what what Daniel is about to get. I’m honestly going to tell you from my perspective is probably one of the most exciting prophecies in the Bible and one of the most confirming of the truth of the Bible. And yet it’s far more than that, right? It’s far more than that.

78. 37:44

    What does this prophecy have to do with his prayer? Well, first of all, we sort of want to look at the prophecy. But before we do, I want you to be impressed by this. If you claim to follow Jesus and you love Jesus, if you do, you will be very interested in not only Bible prophecy, but Bible dates. Jesus is all over dates in Bible prophecy. He’s not just the Jesus.

79. 38:11

    And sometimes he’s portrayed by the churches around us. Jesus is completely interested in Bible prophecy and timelines, as was Daniel. And he refers to Daniel. He says in Matthew 24 when you see the abomination of desolation which Daniel spoke about. And then he. Says if you read that, try and understand he’s referring to Daniel Chapter 9 when Gabriel says I want you to understand this.

80. 38:34

    When you go back to Daniel, that’s what Daniel was doing, right? He was reading Jeremiah the prophet and trying to understand the time period. So when we do this, I want you to sort of gear up if we can, and we want to pick apart the 70 week prophecy, which is what Gabriel gives to him. This is the spirit of Daniel.

81. 38:51

    This is the Spirit of Jesus. So this is what he says, right? He says 70 weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city. Right now, whatever this 70 weeks is, it has 6 purposes. OK, And you don’t have to write all this down because I can give you the slides, but the 70 weeks prophecy has 6 purposes. It’s to end transgression.

82. 39:15

    Oh, that totally relates to Daniel’s prayer, right? Because that’s what he’s all worried about is the transgression in sin of his people. So the 70 week prophecy is going to end transgression. It’s going to make an end of sins. It’s going to make reconciliation or covering for iniquity perfect. That’s what we’ve been talking about, to bring in everlasting righteousness. 5th it’s going to seal up the vision of the prophecy, and number six, it’s going to be for the anointing of the Most Holy.

83. 39:42

    That’s what this prophecy is all about in verse 24. Now what are we talking about with 70 weeks? Well young people, there is 2 verses in particular in the Bible, Numbers 1434 and Ezekiel chapter 4 verse 6. That show you really clearly that a principle of Bible prophecy is that we can take one day for one year.

84. 40:07

    Now if you just stand back and think, should we take 70 weeks, Literally nothing happened in 70 weeks after Daniel’s kind of situation here, 70 weeks is not a long time. But if you take this as 70 sevens, which is 70 weeks or 70 weeks of days, you end up with a day for a year principle that gives you, well, what’s 70 * 7 four 190, right.

85. 40:35

    So you actually have 490 years using the day for a year principle. And, and in 490 years from the start point of this prophecy, which we’ll look at, it’s going to do all six of these things, 490 years from the start of this prophecy and we’re told when it starts. All right. So what I want to do is have a look at who this is really about.

86. 41:04

    The first thing I want you to notice is the subject of this prophecy, the 70 weeks is talking about the Messiah, the Prince. Look at Chapter 9, verse 25. There is a character mentioned here and he’s called Messiah the Prince in verse 25. He’s also referred to as the Prince in verse 26, right? That’s worth highlighting in your Bible or just being really clear on whatever this 490 years is about. The prime subject of it is Messiah the Prince. Now we all know who the Messiah is. It’s Jesus.

87. 41:38

    There is no other Messiah. The word Prince here is the idea of ruler or commander. It’s used of the kings of Israel and it’s only once in Isaiah. You can look that up on your own. It’s a beautiful little verse. And you know what’s really interesting? It’s never used in Daniel except for here in the 70 weeks prophecy and in Daniel Chapter 11 verse 22, referring to exactly the same person, Jesus Christ.

88. 42:01

    All the other words for Prince and Daniel are some other word. This is special. This is a special person and it’s the Messiah. Now ready. I’m going to take you through to me the most logical way to read the 70 weeks prophecy. It starts in verse 25 and goes through verse 26 and 27. Here we go first of all, the 70 week prophecy is broken into three sections, right.

89. 42:31

    Oh, I can walk away from this. Nice. OK we’re to Oh no, let me read it first. OK come back to verse 25. Just so you know I’m not making this up. Look at verse 25. Know therefore and understand. So let’s do it. We got to hang on to this. It’s brilliant that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be 7 weeks and 62 weeks, and the street will be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times. Now hold on, if you add up 62 and seven, what does that add up to?

90. 43:06

    How many weeks? 626345678969 weeks. I thought this was a 70 week prophecy. And it is. There’s one more week and it’s referred to in verse 27. Then he should confirm a covenant with many for one week. So the 70 week prophecy, this is awesome is broken up into three sections. There’s seven weeks, that’s 49 days or 49 years.

91. 43:31

    There’s 62 weeks, which is 434 days, 434 years. And then there’s one week at the end. And we’re also told that something happens in the middle of that final week. Do you see that 1st 27 for one week, but in the middle of the week? So here we go. We’ve got 7 years or seven weeks, 62 weeks, one week, and that one week is divided into 3 1/2 days and 3 1/2 days in the middle of the week.

92. 44:03

    Does that make sense? All right, let me show you a picture of it. This is what it looks like. So here’s our seventy week, our seven weeks, 62 weeks. There’s a one week and something happens in the midst of it. Now this is incredible. Young people, I want to show you how good this is. Verse 25 tells us what’s going to happen in the first seven weeks, Says the streets are going to be built and the wall in troublesome times.

93. 44:30

    When was the wall built? Who built the wall? Yes, thanks. OK, good. Was it easy days? OK, that’s pretty clear, right? So he says there’s going to be a command and the first seven weeks are going to be troublesome times when the wall’s built. So that’s the first seven weeks for 49 years. This is the time of Ezra in Nehemiah. Then it says there’s going to be 62 weeks. What’s going to happen in the 62 weeks? The massive stretch of time?

94. 45:00

    The answer? Nothing. Zip. It’s a period of total waiting. Nothing happens for the people of God. They’re just counting out 62 weeks or 434 years according to prophecy. But what the prophecy goes on to say in the next two verses, after verse 25, is that there’s two things that will happen in the final week and after.

95. 45:26

    During the one week, Messiah will confirm the covenant, and then after the one week Messiah will destroy the temple, right? Yeah. Let’s see this little bit here I want to show you. Let’s zoom in because verse 26 and 27 explain what happens after the 62 week. Period, that whole period of nothing, right?

96. 45:50

    So here’s verse 26 and 27 and I want you to this is we’re doing it Daniel, right? He had to work this out too. This is he did it thousands of years ago. We’re just trying to do it in 2021 and Enfield Ecclesial Hall right here we go. Verse 26 says Messiah shall be cut off the Hebrew word in your Bible for cut.

97. 46:10

    Off means to destroy or to make a covenant and but not for himself. And then it says and the people of the Prince, that special word shall come and destroy the city and the sanctuary. So first here’s the the bare basics of Daniel’s 70 week prophecy. The Messiah will come at the end of the 62 weeks and he’s going to be cut off and he’s going to make a covenant, and after that he will come and absolutely obliterate Jerusalem in the temple. Right now.

98. 46:45

    Verse 27 tells you exactly the same stuff in slightly different detail, so 27 goes back over those two events again. What I mean is he shall come and confirm. Hebrews strengthen a covenant that fits right. Cut off is the idea of a covenant with many for one week. So that’s what happens in the one week.

99. 47:04

    But in the middle of the week he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. So in the middle of that week he’s going to be cut off or bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And of course, after that one week on the wing of the abomination shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation which is determined is poured out on the desolator. What on earth?

100. 47:24

     What is that talking about? Here’s what it’s talking about. I want to show you how cool this is. Here’s how the 70 weeks works out. And I’m going to prove to you the starting point because that’s the big question. Like how do we know when it starts? We’ve got 49 years of troublesome times. That’s Ezra Nehemiah.

101. 47:42

     After that, we have 62 weeks of waiting in between the testaments. And if you add our starting point is going to. Be 458 BC and I’m going to show you that in a second. Well, let’s do. Now how do we know that the 70 week prophecy starts at 458 BC? Daniel’s told by Gabriel from the going out of the command to restore and rebuild. 70 weeks are determined now.

102. 48:09

     Here we go. We could. There’s a number of decrees that are given by the Persian kings to go back and actually restore which one makes the most sense. And I am absolutely 100% convinced that it’s with Viva that it’s Ezra Chapter 7. You check this out. I want to come to Ezra Chapter 7 and I’m just speeding up a bit

103. 48:31

     because I don’t want to go too overtime. But this, this all comes back to Daniel’s prayer. This is not completely unrelated. It is absolutely fantastic. I think we. Need the AC on. I’m starting to sweat even more.

104. 48:48

     Wow. Wow. OK Daniel, no Ezra. Sorry Ezra Chapter 7 OK he is in the year or the reign of our Xerxes chapter 1. And we are looking for a decree to go back and repair and rebuild right? That’s when the 70 weeks prophecy starts. That’s what we’re told. So here we are as there’s seven verse one.

105. 49:12

     It’s the reign of Arxyxes, King of Persia, we are told on Wikipedia. I got some I’m. Just going to pour it on my head.

106. 49:22

     Thanks Jane. Nice. OK, we are told by Wikipedia and I’m just going for Wikipedia because it’s the common consensus, although at school I tell you not to use Wikipedia. But that’s right Wikipedia says Arxyx is the first. This king reigns from 465 to 424. Ezra is here in his reign and we are told verse 8 of Ezra. Ezra came to Jerusalem in the 5th Munch which was the 7th year of the king.

107. 49:51

     That brings us to 458 BC and in that year Ark Xerxes wrote Ezra a letter and he said this verse 12 ark Xerxes king of kings, Ezra the priest scribe of the law of God of heaven, which is crazy that a Persian king saying that perfect peace and so so on. Let’s get to the point. I issue a decree that all those of the people of Israel and the priest Levites matter realm who volunteered to go up to Jerusalem, they go with you.

108. 50:18

     Now the really cool thing is Arctic Xerxes writes this decree. The temple is already underway. But this decree is special because he gives heaps of cash to Ezra. This is a decree, not just a nice little letter. Go ahead and do it. And he says, go back and fire up the law of God in the temple and in that city. Get it absolutely going.

109. 50:39

     So when Ezra reflects on this in his prayer. He refers to it in verse 9 of Chapter 9 and says we’ve been given mercy by the kings of Persia to go back and repair and rebuild the young people. I am absolutely convinced this is the date intended by the start of the 70 week prophecy.

110. 50:58

     It is Ezra. Being told by Artaxerxes in 458 BCE to go back and fire up the temple with the law of God. He does it in the seventh year as Artaxerxes interestingly sevens. Ark Xerxes in the letter sends him with seven counselors and seven times. Ark Xerxes in that letter says go back to the House of God, 7th year, 7 counselors, 7 times. He talks about the House of God 70 week prophecy, I think so right now there’s something else that’s really important. Daniel gets to to Jerusalem in that year of the 70 week prophecy and he finds it a total mess and he gets down on his knees in Ezra Chapter 9.

111. 51:45

     Listen to this. And he prays to the God of heaven in Ezra Chapter 9 exactly echoing Daniel’s prayer in Chapter 9 just before Daniel got the 70 week prophecy. And do you know what time of day Ezra was praying? We are told he was praying at the time of the evening sacrifice. That’s exactly when Daniel received the 70 week prophecy. That’s an Ezra by the way.

112. 52:16

     All these things I’m going to give you on a handout a Bible insert after. So don’t screw it all down. Now that is fantastic young people. This is the start of the 70 week prophecy. The timing and the theme of Ezra’s prayer in that year is identical to Daniel’s prayer. And I can I’ll give you these notes later. You can kind of pour over it.

113. 52:36

     Ezra 9 is a total echo is of Ezra chapter of Daniel Chapter 9. He goes all the way through that. Now let’s just take back to our little thing, right? If you add on 49 years takes you to 4:00 and 9:00, the start of nothing, OK, all the way through here. If you add 434 years takes you to 8026. What happened in 8026?

114. 53:06

     Well, it’s well. I’m going to show you, OK? It’s almost certain that this is when Jesus was baptized and started his ministry. You think that actually means that in this final week, it goes from Jesus’s baptism to 8033? What happened in 8033? Don’t worry about that yet. What happened in the middle of the week, 3 1/2 years after Jesus’s baptism and ministry? What happened?

115. 53:37

     The Messiah. Was cut off that’s exactly what the 70 week prophecy said all the way back in Daniel Chapter 9 in the midst of the week he will be cut off and he will establish a covenant for the people. Now you might think was Jesus really crucified in 8030? Let’s go to Wikipedia right?

116. 54:00

     Think about this young people. I know that sounds sketchy, but if we’re going for the consensus view, no one’s going to no one’s going to say everyone’s nailed the date. Dates and chronologies, as you guys know, are kind of tricky and whatever, but let’s just go with this. Scholars have provided estimates of the range from 8030 to 33 AD.

117. 54:18

     Hey, we are seriously close. However, one expert says the year 8030 is apparently, in the, in the opinion of the majority of contemporary scholars as well, far and away the most likely date of the crucifixion of Jesus. So 49 years plus 300 and 43 + 3 1/2 takes you right to the year of Jesus crucifixion. Obviously that’s what’s intended, young people, there’s no doubt about it.

118. 54:46

     And Daniel was being told by the Angel Gabriel, this is completely in God’s control. And Daniel, if you’re worried about the sins of your people, you’ve got to still you’ve just been through 70 years of captivity, you’ve got another 70 sevens to go. Until the problem of sin is totally dealt with. That is awesome.

119. 55:12

     Wait, So what happened in 1833? Now before you answer that question, what happened in that one week? Come back to Daniel Chapter 9 to answer this question. We want to know what else Daniel was told about that week. Are you happy if I just round this off because the temperature’s dropping. Feeling a little bit better?

120. 55:36

     Yeah. OK. Good. Is that all right, Host? Just a little bit longer. We’re going to finish that off. Yes. Thanks, Trev. OK, so here we go. Right. We are told what’s going to happen in that final week. Right. Daniel, Chapter 9, verse 27 says this. Ready. Careful reading this. Is what Daniel had to do.

121. 55:56

     Then he shall confirm, and if you’ve got a little pencil in your margin or wait, your pencil is probably not in your margin. But if you’ve got a pencil right in your margin, the word for confirm in Hebrew is to strengthen. Strengthen. The word for confirm is to strengthen. So listen to this.

122. 56:16

     He shall strengthen a covenant with many for one week. So what’s happening in this one week is a strengthening of the covenant. Now Jesus is baptized. He starts bringing in that covenant. He gets cut off, which confirms that covenant nails it to the cross. Right? 8033. This is so cool. Some things are sketchy to date in the New Testament, but the death of Stephen is almost certainly 8033 and we can build that on the timelines and the chronologies of the apostle Paul, which are really accurate to do.

123. 57:02

     Now what on earth does Stephen have to do with the 70 week prophecy, young people, and how is he the end of the week that goes about strengthening the new covenant? What did Stephen do? You guys tell me, I’ll repeat it for those online. He was brilliant at looking after other people. Give me some more.

124. 57:30

     He prayed for forgiveness for others. Who did he pray for? Forgiveness for those people, the Jews, Israel. That’s what Daniel’s doing in Daniel Chapter 9. Excellent. What else is significant about Stephen? He wasn’t afraid to stand up for what he believed was not afraid to stand up for. What he believed good.

125. 57:52

     What did he teach? Go to Acts Chapter 7. This is incredible. OK, Acts Chapter 7. Is this the end of the 70 week prophecy? 100 bazillion percent sure. Oh no, that’s ridiculous. But I feel like it’s true. OK, Well, anyway, I want you to get the vibe of this. This is incredible stuff.

126. 58:16

     There’s few things that are this exact. Stephen stands up and we’re told in Chapter 6, just before Chapter 7, we’re told in chapter 6 that he was so persuasive that people could not resist him. This, this is what this is what happens with Steven. He’s so persuasive that people could not present resist him. And do you know what happens in Chapter 6? They get false accusations.

127. 58:41

     Listen to this. This is. Beautiful. They get false witnesses to rise up against Stephen and accuse him falsely and do you know what they say Listen to this verse 13. They set up false witnesses who said this introduces his speech. This man does not cease to speak blasphemous words against this place. He focuses the temple just like Daniel and Ezra and the law Daniel, Ezra, for we have heard him say, listen to this. This Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place, temple and change the customs which Moses gave us. You know what’s great young people? They had no idea how true their lives were because that’s exactly what Daniel 70 week prophecy said would happen. Jesus is going to come and destroy this place and change the customs of Moses and the sacrifices and offerings. It’s awesome.

128. 59:38

     And in comes Stephen and he gives this amazing speech that the Jews need to hear. The temple is over. God does not dwell in places made by hands. The temple system is gone. There’s a new covenant in place. And you know what’s fantastic? Young people? Stephen, at the end of his speech, sees heaven open and he is the very first person. To see the risen Lord Jesus standing on the right hand of God as the Son of God in heaven, and he sees him in his full manifestation of glory.

129. 1:00:15

     This is a pivotal, monumental moment for the for the preaching of the gospel in the covenant and the Jews could not resist his teaching. This nails it in the coffin. The the law of Moses and the temple are gone. It’s all through Christ. Sins will not be covered to the temple and sacrifices. They will be covered by the Lord Jesus Christ. And you know, Stephen speaks directly to the Lord and asks the Lord to forgive the people for their sins in the spirit of Daniel.

130. 1:00:47

     But now it can happen because of the new covenant. So this is 8070. Right after this covenant is confirmed for one week, we’re told that the desolator will come, That’s Rome, and he’s going to destroy Jerusalem. The final thing I want you to just take away from this in terms of the prophecy, young people, is we are told that the people who are going to come to destroy Jerusalem are the people of the Prince. Quickly look at Daniel Chapter 9. Go back to verse 26.

131. 1:01:22

     I just want you to be impressed by this. Verse 26 says the Messiah is going to be cut. Off. And then he says the people of this Prince will come and destroy the city in the sanctuary that happened in 8070. Who’s the Prince? Jesus. Who’s the people of the Prince in Daniel Chapter 9? Pardon.

132. 1:01:46

     No, because no. Good guess, but no, because. Jesus is coming to destroy with the people. He’s got people with him to come and destroy the temple in the Jewish nation. The answer to the the question there is that the people of the Prince are the Roman legions, and they come sweeping in and absolutely destroy that city.

133. 1:02:09

     Do you know who’s controlling the Roman legions and 8070 young people? It’s Jesus. He’s been given all power and authority, and finally he’s been cut off. He’s confirmed the covenant, and later he comes in 8070 and obliterates the temple and the sacrificial system, and he uses his special people, Rome, the Roman legions. You can prove that from the New Testament, multiple different ways.

134. 1:02:33

     Jesus was in charge of that battle and the Roman legions were his people to execute judgement on the Mosaic system set up by the Jewish leaders. So if you go back to the six things, young people just squidge through them. What was the purpose of the prophecy? To end the transgression? This is a fulling up of the Jewish sins after. 490 years, The reign of sin is over.

135. 1:03:03

     Jesus brings in absolute victory over sin in the midst of the week. There’s an end of sins from the 70 week prophecy. Yes. It deals with it. Sin offerings are over if you take it in that sense, as well as sins in general obliterated by the Messiah. You know what’s so important? Jesus doesn’t only destroy the temple and he doesn’t later just destroy the Roman army in Revelation.

136. 1:03:32

     He destroys sin. Young people. That’s the point of the 70 week prophecy. This Messiah, the Prince destroys sin. He’s got it, He takes control of it, and that makes reconciliation or covering for the people #4 he brings in an age of everlasting righteousness through faith. That’s the 490 years he’s sealed up the vision and the prophecy of the prophet. Christ did that, and he’s anointed as the most holy. Jesus is the most holy, no longer needing a temple. So here’s the point of the prophecy, young people. When Daniel was looking at it, he’d be assured that God was in control of everything and there’s certain hope for sin and our position 2021 looking back at the 70 week prophecy, we can be absolutely convinced that God is in control. His word is true.

137. 1:04:29

     But not only that, the real picture of the 70 week prophecy in Daniel’s prayer. This is the answer to sin. So why do we not confess our sin to God? Why are we holding on to it? Why are we thinking we can get over ourselves? Young people, it’s time to get down on our knees and like Daniel, Ezra and Stephen, confess our sins to God, Give them to him.

138. 1:04:53

     And that’s the first step to dealing with sin. That is, give them to God. So here’s the message young people, I want you to be encouraged by the 70 week prophecy, the spirit of Daniel and our need to confess our sins to God. Daniel was told the real solution to sin is not going to be the end of 70 years of captivity. It’s going to be the end of. 490 years when a new covenant was in place, when sin is eradicated and we can be part of that through faith in Christ.

139. 1:05:40

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140. 1:06:10

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141. 1:06:26

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