PART 3: DANIEL'S PRAYER ANSWERED — JESUS' TRIUMPHAL ENTRY

I Believe Scripture is clear: It is not what believers pray, it is where their minds are. If believers' minds are focused on the right channel, they are going to hear Him because He is already speaking. And the prayers that believers pray are just a reflection of where their minds are.

Here is proof…

20 Now while I was speaking and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God in behalf of the holy mountain of my God,

21 while I was still speaking in prayer,

Daniel's mind was ready to hear even before he started praying!

[Notice that God did not wait until the end of the prayer to see if Daniel had met the seven requirements, which all begin with the letter Z of prayer -sic!] God did not wait to see if Daniel prayed correctly.

Please drop down to verse 23…

23 "At the beginning of your supplication the command was issued, and I have come to tell you.

I get this picture of Daniel babbling on and on while the angel is waiting in front of him twiddling his thumbs, whistling and thinking I have been here since the very beginning of your prayer!

Remember that Daniel was thinking Seventy years are just about up. The number seventy was on his mind, but the revelation involved another number seventy…

24 "Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, [—there are six things that have been decreed for Israel—]

• to finish the transgression,
• to make an end of sin,
• to make atonement for iniquity,
• to bring in everlasting righteousness,
• to seal up vision and prophecy, and
• to anoint the most holy place."

Six things will be accomplished at the end of the seventy weeks time frame.

We cannot translate the word weeks because there is no equivalent word in English. In the English language, there are words that mean a certain number of anything. For example, a dozen means twelve of anything, a couple means two of anything; a trio means three of anything.

Hebrew has a word like that for seven, the word Shabua, which the English language does not. That is the word for weeks here.

He is saying seventy blocks of seven is the time frame to accomplish the six things that have been decreed for Israel. This refers to:

The Lord God always gives Daniel revelations with a broad picture, and then He zooms in on the picture.

Daniel must have been thinking I do not want another one of those big sweeps. I want to know when we are going back to Israel. How does all of this fit in with these empires? Every time I ask a simple question, I get a sweep of history.

Daniel gets another broad picture for Israel. It is a 490-year plan with a gap in the plan. At the end of this 490 years, six things will have been accomplished as follows:

1. To finish the transgression (rebellion)

At the end of 490 years, the rebellion of Satan and the world is going to be over. And Israel's rebellion; wandering in the wilderness; moving in and out, in and out, in and out of the Land will be over. Israel will be back in the Land forever.

2. To make an end of sin

This is referring to personal sin. At the end of 490 years, even the concept of sin will not exist anymore.

3. To make atonement for iniquity

The King James Version (KJV) reads To make reconciliation for iniquity. Until five years ago, no one knew what the Hebrew word meant. It was found in no other place in Hebrew or in the Septuagint. By using the word reconciliation, they got as close as possible to the original meaning.

In archaeological digs, they found some papyrus documents, and it turns out that the word for iniquity means "annulment", a legal word meaning "an annulment of a marriage". What is the difference between a divorce and an annulment? A divorce says A marriage did exist, but it does not anymore. An annulment says Strike it, because it never was a marriage.

In the future, there is going to be this kind of separation of sin from the remnant who are alive and who are in the Kingdom in eternity. They will not be considered former sinners. It will be as if their previous life has been annulled.

4. To bring in everlasting righteousness

There is going to be a time when righteousness reigns. And righteousness is not just the absence of sin—

Righteousness is a powerful force that is not passive.

For example, if you drained away all of a person's sins, he would not be righteous. For example, before Adam and Eve sinned, they were sinless and they were innocent. They had no sin; however, they were not righteous.

5. To seal up vision and prophecy

For Israel, all prophecies, beginning in Genesis and going through Revelation, are going to be fulfilled.

6. To anoint the most holy place

This is where Daniel's heart would have been struck.

Literally, it is the most holy place but the Jews would have known it as the Holy of Holies. That is when Daniel's heart clicked — when he heard the Holy of Holies was going to be anointed.

He does NOT say I will be slowly finishing the transgression, I will gradually make an end to sin, and then sort of making atonement for iniquity and gradually bringing in righteousness. They are all done things.

These six things will be done for Israel in the future; however, everything that has been promised to Israel and everything that will be given to Israel, is accomplished for biblical believers [spiritually] the moment they are redeemed.

1. To finish the transgression (rebellion)

Our rebellion is over; it is in the past — even though it does not appear that way. What does our rebellion is over mean?

• We will never turn away from Messiah Jesus because He will not let us, and
• The rebellion is over from the Messiah Jesus' perspective; we are His children now.

2. To make an end of sin

So how is sin ended? Let us take a look at the Daniel 5 (Handwriting on the Wall) episode:

The word MENE means numbered, and the word was written twice: Numbered, Numbered. What is the significance? There are two possible numberings for sin, as follows:

3. To make atonement for iniquity

Atonement (reconciliation) means "an annulment". Our sins have been annulled; they have not been divorced.

Paul tells us that We are married to Christ Jesus; however, prior to our salvation We were married to the Law. (See Romans 7:1-6.) In keeping with this analogy, the New Testament says that Anybody who is married to the Law is married to sin; and anybody who is married to sin is married to the Law. Or, put another way —

That is the old way.

4. To bring in everlasting righteousness

From the minute we were saved, we were declared Righteous. That righteousness will continue because it is not just the absence of sin.

Messiah Jesus' life was not just characterized in a negative way whereby He was just a Person who did not commit sin. He could have sat in a tent all day and not have sinned. His righteousness was an active and powerful one. And that is what we have now.

5. To seal up vision and prophecy

Everything God decreed for us, we have now. There is nothing that we will potentially have; we have it all now.

Ephesians 2:10 tells us that even the good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them are complete.

6. To anoint the most holy place.

What is our most holy place (our Holy of Holies)? It is our spirit. Our spirit is anointed by Holy Spirit, who is there with all of God's power; we are complete with no work remaining to be done.

The nation of Israel (excluding all redeemed Jews) does not possess these six things, although they will. They have a 490 year program to accomplish all of these things and bring in the Kingdom of God.

25 "So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress."

We know that the countdown starts with a decree to rebuild Jerusalem. Once that happens, the 490 year program starts.

THREE DECREES RELATING TO JERUSALEM

1. Decree of Cyrus (536 B.C.) — Ezra 1:2-4

'Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The LORD God of heaven, hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and He hath charged me to build Him an house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all His people? His God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the LORD God of Israel; He is the God, which is in Jerusalem. And whosoever remaineth in any place where he sojourneth, let the men of his place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, beside the freewill offering for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.'

The Decree of Cyrus in 536 B.C. does not fit the revelation. Daniel 9:25 specifies A decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem. This decree refers to the Temple and not to Jerusalem.

2. Decree of Artaxerxes (458 B.C.) — Ezra 7:11-20

3. Decree of Artaxerxes (March 5, 444 B.C., 12 Noon) — Nehemiah 2:1-8

The Greek historian, Herodotus, was a contemporary of King Artaxerxes. Herodotus had a great interest in Persia, and he chronicled the issuing of the Decree of Artaxerxes —

Notice that the following verse is subdivided…

25 "You are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress."

The reason he divides it is that after sixty-two weeks -or- 62 weeks of years X 7 years = 434 years in which the plaza and moat were finished. That brings us to the year 396 B.C.

And, he says Even in times of distress. We see times of distress involved with building the plaza and the moat as described in the book of Nehemiah. [Remember that Nehemiah did not rebuild the Temple; he rebuilt the walls.]

Therefore, in 396 B.C. everything in Jerusalem was finished.

Another significant occurrence was in that same year, 396 B.C. — Until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks. The prophecy refers to Messiah Jesus' Triumphal Entry (not His birth).

Jesus always called Himself Son of Man and not King. Even when the 5,000 people whom Jesus fed tried to make Him King, He would not let them.

The only time in His ministry when Jesus presented Himself as the King was at the Triumphal Entry.

Based on this passage, we know exactly when Jesus' triumphal entry happened: 69 weeks [of years] from the issuing of the Decree of Artaxerxes [on March 5, 444. B.C.] = March 30, 31 A.D.

1. Modern Calendar [based on the Gregorian System] calculation
2. Jewish Calendar calculation

Both present the exact day of:

It could not be more specific.

• Jesus of Nazareth was an obscure Jewish carpenter from Galilee who had been to the Passover Feast in Jerusalem several times in His life. One time Jesus of Nazareth comes down a little mountain on the edge of the City, and He rides into Jerusalem on a colt. The crowds spread their coats and leafy palm branches before Him in the road, and those who followed Messiah Jesus shouted Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest! This was the day of Messiah Jesus' Triumphal Entrance into Jerusalem. (See Matthew 21:1-11, Mark 11:1-11, Luke 19:28-44, and John 12:12-19.) It was inexcusable to miss it.
• When Jesus said You did not recognize the time of your visitation (see Luke 19:44), He was not referring to the miracles He worked or the general prophecies He fulfilled; Jesus was referring to His Royal Entry into Jerusalem. This means You did not recognize the time the Messiah did visit you. Know that the people of the day did not have to go through all of the calculator-driven calculations like we do; they simply added the years in accordance with the prophecy of old (see Daniel 9:25).
• This explains why one of the parables told by Messiah Jesus was about a landowner that planted a vineyard and then rented it out. The landowner went on a journey, and twice he sent servants to collect from the vine-growers; the vine-growers kill all of the servants. Finally, the landowner says I will send my son, because they will respect him. When his son arrived at the vineyard, the vine-growers say This is his son; let us kill him (see Matthew 21:33-40). This is an amazing parable, because it shows that even though the people know he is the son, they kill him. Messiah Jesus told this parable at the end of His life, meaning that when they kill Him, they will know exactly what they are doing.
• The Saducees rejected Jesus as King for the same reason anybody who rejects Him does: they are unwilling. Indeed, they had no interest in spiritual matters whatsoever.
• The Pharisees [like the scribes] had no excuse, because they were students of the Scriptures. They were always flocking around wherever Jesus was; they could not stay away from Him. In the equivalent of today's participants in events like the Jesus Seminar where they study all about Jesus. They know Messiah Jesus, but they are liars to themselves, because they understand the truth and yet they openly reject Him.
• At the triumphal entry, Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus Tell Your disciples to shut up (see Luke 19:39-40). Why did they tell Him to do so [since they did not try to shut up His disciples on other occasions]? The Pharisees knew what day had been prophesied, and they knew the people would believe it. Jesus answered their demands by saying If they shut up, the rocks will cry out, meaning this is the special marked-out day that is pointed to from history.
• Jesus went to Jerusalem frequently. Sometimes He would stir up trouble, and sometimes He did not. This time His enemies were armed to kill Him on that specific day that was prophesied.
• Why was Jesus was so cryptic in His last journey? He went to Bethany where He raised Lazarus from the dead, He went to the Temple, and then He withdrew for a few days during which time we cannot account for where He was. Remember that His enemies knew when that day was.

Father, we thank You for showing us Daniel, who identified himself with his people in his prayer so we an see the picture of Jesus identifying Himself with us — to the point of calling us His brothers.

Please do not let us stop with an intellectual understanding of the irrefutable evidences and calculated dates of Jesus' Triumphal Entry and Crucifixion. Intervene in our lives so we have the spiritual capacity to believe the truth and respond to Jesus as our Redeemer.

Father, for those of us who have trusted in Messiah Jesus as our Savior, we thank You that we will spend all eternity with You.

We pray in the name of Jesus, our Messiah. Amen.

Part 4: Daniel's Prayer Answered—

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