In Part 1 of our study, we confirmed that the anointed leader of Daniel 9:24-27 is Jesus. In Part 2, we will now look at what Daniel 9:24-27 says about Him and His mission. Please read each passage and the corresponding study questions below.
Passage 1
“Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city until the measure of transgression is filled and that of sin complete, until iniquity is expiated, and eternal righteousness ushered in; and prophetic vision ratified, and the Holy of Holies anointed.” (Daniel 9:24)
- What does Daniel 9:24 say would be accomplished by the Jewish people and Jerusalem in the 70-week period, or 490 years, allotted to them?* (In Part 1, we learned that the weeks of this prophecy symbolized years. Each day represents a year. Thus, 70 weeks x 7 years = 490 years.)
Answer: The text tells us that they would do six things within this time frame:
They would fill the measure of their transgressions.
They would make a completion of sin (or sin offerings, according to the Hebrew.).
Their iniquity would be expiated, or atoned for.
Eternal righteousness would be ushered in.
The prophetic vision would be ratified.
The Holy of Holies would be anointed.
Passage 2
“You must know and understand: From the issuance of the word to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the [time of the] anointed leader is seven weeks; and for sixty-two weeks it will be rebuilt, square and moat, but in a time of distress.” (Daniel 9:25)
- What was the anointed leader anointed to do?
“This is My servant, whom I uphold, My chosen one, in whom I delight. I have put My spirit upon him, He shall teach the true way to the nations.” (Isaiah 42:1)
“The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, Because the Lord has anointed me; He has sent me as a herald of joy to the humble, To bind up the wounded of heart, To proclaim release to the captives, Liberation to the imprisoned; To proclaim a year of the Lord’s favor And a day of vindication by our God; To comfort all who mourn…” (Isaiah 61:1,2)
“My righteous servant makes the many righteous…” (Isaiah 53:8)
Answer: The Scriptures say that He was anointed to minister to His people. This is exactly what Jesus did among the Jews through His righteous life and His ministry of teaching, preaching, and healing.
Further Reading: Mark 1:9-11, 14,15; Matthew 9:35
Passage 3
“And after those sixty-two weeks, the anointed one will disappear and vanish. The army of a leader who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary, but its end will come through a flood. Desolation is decreed until the end of war.” (Daniel 9:26)
- How did the Messiah disappear and vanish? Why?
“By oppressive judgment he was taken away, Who could describe his abode? For he was cut off from the land of the living Through the sin of my people, who deserved the punishment. And his grave was set among the wicked, And with the rich, in his death— Though he had done no injustice And had spoken no falsehood.” (Isaiah 53:8)
“Said unto them, Ye [the chief priests, elders, and scribes] have brought this man unto me, as one that perverteth the people: and, behold, I, having examined him before you, have found no fault in this man touching those things whereof ye accuse him: No, nor yet Herod: for I sent you to him; and, lo, nothing worthy of death is done unto him.” (Luke 23:14, 15)
“And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him [Jesus], saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.” (Luke 23:4, 39-41)
Answer: The Messiah disappeared from the land of the living because He was killed. The prophets Daniel and Isaiah both saw that the Messiah would be cut off, killed, for the transgressions of their people. He Himself did nothing wrong.
Further Reading: Psalms 22:1,7,8,15-18; Isaiah 53:5-10; Matthew 27:24-54
Passage 4
“During one week he will make a firm covenant with many. For half a week he will put a stop to the sacrifice and the meal offering. At the corner [of the altar] will be an appalling abomination until the decreed destruction will be poured down upon the appalling thing.” (Daniel 9:27)
- What was the Messiah also to do during the 70th week, the last seven years of the prophecy?
Answer: He would (1) make a “firm covenant” with many and (2) put a stop to the sacrifice and offering. - What was the “firm covenant” Jesus confirmed with His people?
“See, a time is coming—declares the Lord—when I will make a new covenant with the House of Israel and the House of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers, when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt…”
“I will put My Teaching into their inmost being and inscribe it upon their hearts. Then I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No longer will they need to teach one another and say to one another, “Heed the Lord”; for all of them, from the least of them to the greatest, shall heed Me—declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquities, And remember their sins no more.” (Jeremiah 31:31-34)
“And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease…These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (Matthew 10:1,5-6)
“Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls…And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.” (Acts 2:41,47)
Answer: The covenant Jesus came to confirm was the covenant He spoke of to Jeremiah. During the last seven years of the prophecy, Jesus and His disciples confirmed this covenant with many of the Jewish people.
Further Reading: Deuteronomy 4:13; Malachi 3:1,2
- How did Jesus confirm this covenant?
“He [Moses] designated some young men among the Israelites, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed bulls as offerings of well-being to the LORD. Moses took one part of the blood and put it in basins, and the other part of the blood he dashed against the altar…Moses took the blood and dashed it on the people and said, “This is the blood of the covenant that the LORD now makes with you concerning all these commands.” (Exodus 24:5,6,8)
“And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” (Matthew 26:27,28)
“Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;” (Matthew 27:50-51)
“But such is the covenant I will make with the House of Israel after these days—declares the LORD: I will put My Teaching into their inmost being…No longer will they need to teach one another and say to one another, “Heed the LORD”; for all of them, from the least of them to the greatest, shall heed Me—declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquities, And remember their sins no more.” (Jeremiah 31:33, 34)
Answer: By sacrificing His life, Jesus confirmed the new covenant in the same way Moses confirmed the first covenant. When He did, He “put a stop to the sacrifice and the meal offering.” This was seen in a marked way. An unseen hand tore the veil between the Holy and Holy of Holies from the top to the bottom at Jesus’ death.
It would be through this sacrifice that G-d’s people would ultimately be forgiven for their sins.
Further Reading:Exodus 24:4-8; Daniel 5:2-5; Mark 14:23-25
SUMMARY
In this study, we reviewed the 70-Week prophecy of Daniel 9:24-27. We learned that Jesus was anointed to minister to, be cut off (killed) for, and confirm the covenant of Jeremiah 31:31-34 with the Jewish people. He was not anointed to overthrow the Roman Empire at this time. In our next study, we will learn when Jesus will do this and bring in the Messianic Age.
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