God's Continuing Provision: Daniel and Ezekiel

In one sense the reason we have the Old Testament is that God is demonstrating through His relationship with Israel and Israel’s response without the Holy Spirit, without that level of divine help, that man is completely incapable of meeting God’s standards on his own. That is why the law was given. It is going to be at the cross, at the incarnation, when the second person of the Trinity becomes flesh, undiminished deity takes on true humanity, that we now have the new Adam. It is the second Adam who fulfilled all of the divine requirements. At the cross He pays the penalty for our sins, at the resurrection His deity is validated, recognized and publicly announced by God, and He is sent to heaven. He will return at the second coming and establish His kingdom and at that point the curse gets rolled back almost completely, but not fully because those who were born to the Tribulation saints who survived are still born with sin natures. But in terms of environment and governmental rule there will be perfect environment. Jesus Christ as the second Adam is perfect man and He is able as man to fulfill the creation covenant. So all of human history in a sense is God working step by step, age by age, demonstrating different truths about Himself in each dispensation—the church age demonstrating that it is God who does everything for the believer through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit—taking man from the point of the fall to the point where there is a regenerate earth and a redeemed society under the head of the Davidic King who is the perfect God-Man who then fulfills that function. That is what it is all about. It is in this procedure that God is then glorified.

Where we are in this study is that Israel has failed, Judah has failed, and in 596 BC they are taken out in divine discipline. Of course, the major question facing the Jews at that time and faces any people who go through a major catastrophe, a period of extreme adversity, is whether the God we worship is really more powerful than the circumstances. So Daniel and Ezekiel are written in order to demonstrate this principle to the Jews and to give them renewed confidence and hope that there is a future for Israel. The promises God made in the Abrahamic and Davidic covenants are going to eventually be fulfilled. A covenant is a contract.

In Daniel 1:1-21 we have a history of the prophet Daniel. We learn who he is and how he comes to be in Babylon. In 2:1-7:28 the language shifts to mostly Aramaic and it is during this time that we have the great prophecies in the book of Daniel. They all relate to the Gentile kingdoms and nations. The third major division of the book goes back to Hebrew and the history of the Jews.

Chapter two is about the great image that appears in the form of a man. One thing that should come to our mind is, is the question, is God somehow relating this back to the image purpose of man? There is something there that God wants us to pay attention to: that man is failing to fulfill the image function and wants to assert himself in his own image. If we do a comparison between Daniel chapter two and chapter seven, which are the two major visions that Daniel has related to these kingdoms, each kingdom (represented by various metals—gold, silver, bronze, iron, each lessening in value) is less powerful and less valuable. What we see in this image is man’s kingdoms as man views them. They are something of significance and value. Man is something in his own eyes. But in chapter seven these kingdoms are represented as beasts, and this represents the kingdom of man as God sees the kingdom of man. It has an essential bestial quality that is violent, ugly and horrible; it is not of value. In the image the head of gold represents the Babylonian empire under Nebuchadnezzar. The breast and arms of silver represented a combination of the Medes and the Persians and it was known as the Persian empire. The third element in the image refers to the belly and the thighs of bronze, and this refers to the Greek empire. The legs of iron represent ancient Rome, the feet of iron and clay to the future revived Roman empire. In chapter seven Daniel clarifies who some of these are. He does not do that in the interpretation of chapter two. In chapter seven the lion with the wings of an eagle represents the Babylonian kingdom; the bear raised up on one side (indicating one side stronger than the other) is the Persian kingdom; the leopard with four heads is Greece under Alexander the Great (when Alexander died the empire was divided among his four generals); that was replaced by the fourth empire, Rome, and then the future Roman kingdom is represented by the ten horns on the goat.

That lays out the history of the Gentile kingdom. When Daniel sees the image in chapter two he says to Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel 2:34 ^NASB “You continued looking until a stone was cut out without hands, and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and crushed them.” So the kingdom of man is destroyed by this stone that is cut out without hands. In other words, it doesn’t come from a human source, it is a divine source. This, of course, is the Lord Jesus Christ returning at the Second Advent, at Armageddon, and He destroys all of the human kingdoms and sets up His own kingdom in its place.

One of the most important prophecies in Daniel is chapter nine. This is one of the most detailed and precise prophecies given in the Scriptures. Daniel has been meditating on Jeremiah and he discovers that there are seventy years decreed by God in relationship to Jerusalem. In 605 BC the first captives were taken out of Jerusalem. The first group returns to the land in approximately 535-536 BC, so that is roughly seventy years from the time they go out to the time they return. The primary reference for the seventy years is in relation to the temple. In 586 BC the nation goes out under divine discipline, the temple is destroyed, and it is in approximately 516 BC that begin to lay the foundations for the second temple. The temple wasn’t completed for about 60 years. But when we talk about the seventy years captivity this is the gap we refer to—586-516 BC.

In Daniel chapter nine Daniel has been praying to the Lord. He realizes that the seventy years that have been decreed are just about up. Daniel 9:20 ^NASB “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, then the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision previously, came to me in {my} extreme weariness about the time of the evening offering.” Notice the detail he gives. [22] “He gave {me} instruction and talked with me and said, ‘O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you insight with understanding. [23] At the beginning of your supplications the command was issued, and I have come to tell {you,} for you are highly esteemed; so give heed to the message and gain understanding of the vision. [24] Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, 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.}” When it talks about seventy weeks, in the Hebrew this is really seventy periods of seven. When that is multiplied out it comes to 490 periods. We know that that has to be years because of several things that take place in the context. What this tells us is that the first 69 of the seventy years relate to Christ’s first coming. The final week of years, which is seven years, relates to Christ’s second coming. The final week of seven years relates to the great Tribulation called the time of Jacob’s trouble in the Old Testament and is designed to bring the most intense form of divine discipline on the nation Israel to bring them back to the gospel, and at the end of the Tribulation period Israel is regenerate. They turn as a nation to the Lord and all Israel is saved, according to the Scripture. At that point all Israel enters into the Millennium and is saved.

There are six items that Daniel mentions in this 24^th verse. “Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city.” That defines who the prophecy is for. “your people” would be Israel, and “your holy city” would be Jerusalem. Then there is a purpose for this, the divine plan. First of all “to finish the transgression.” Literally in the Hebrew it is “bring to an end the transgression,” and that relates to the cross. Secondly, “to make an end of sin.” Ultimately Christ deals with everything at His second coming when He destroys the Antichrist and establishes His kingdom. Third, “, to make atonement for iniquity.” This is the death of Christ on the cross, Fourth, “, to bring in everlasting righteousness.” That does not occur until Christ comes at the second coming, the second advent to inaugurate the Millennial kingdom. Fifth, “to seal up vision and prophecy.” That has the sense of bringing all prophecy to an end. All the prophecies related to Israel will be fulfilled in this period of seventy weeks. Finally, “and to anoint the most holy place.” This is taken to be a reference to the Millennial temple that Ezekiel refers to.

Daniel 9:25 ^NASB “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.” This passage does not specify what decree that will be. The issuing of the decree to do two things: “to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince {there will be} seven weeks and sixty-two weeks.” That adds up to 69 weeks from the decree to restore until Messiah the Prince comes. We know from a study of history that there were three different decrees related to the Jews going back to the land, but the one that this is referring to is Artaxerxes decree referred to in Nehemiah 2:1-8 when Nehemiah was given a command to go back to Jerusalem and finish the building process of the walls and the defense. The specific decree was to go back and rebuild the walls and the fortifications of Jerusalem. We know that that can be dated to March 5^th, 444 BC. From that date, figuring it all out, we know that the end point of the 69 weeks comes to March 30^th AD 33, which is the date of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem in Luke 19. It is just four days later that Jesus the Messiah is cut off, i.e. crucified, and at that point the 69 weeks terminates. There is a gap here. The church age begins, and we don’t know how long that is going to last, and there is a separation of time between the 69^th and 70^th week because Israel has rejected their Messiah.

Daniel 9:26 ^NASB “Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince [reference to Rome] who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end {will come} with a flood [quickly]; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined.” The prince who is to come is going to come out of the revived Roman empire but this is the early empire, not the later empire. The destruction of the city and the sanctuary was fulfilled in 70 AD.

Daniel 9:27 ^NASB “And he [Antichrist] will make a firm covenant with the many [Israel] for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations {will come} one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.” It is the signing of this covenant which is the starting point of that last seven-year period, not the Rapture of the church. There will probably be some transition period after the Rapture until the signing if the covenant/treaty. Half way into this seven-year period the Antichrist is going to desecrate the temple. This is the Tribulation temple, an unholy temple because it is built by the Jews to reflect Judaism; they haven’t accepted the Lord. The temple has to be rebuilt by at least the mid-point of the Tribulation. It doesn’t have to be built in its entirety, it just has to be built enough to be functional.

We know that these years must be figured on the basis of 360-day years and not 365-day years which we have in our Gregorian calendar. We know this because in Daniel 7:25 is uses the term “half-week,” and “time, times and half a time”—time is one year, times is two years + a half = three and a half. This is quoted in Revelation. Revelation 12:6 and 11:3 describe this same period of three and a half years as one thousand two hundred and sixty days. If we divide three and a half into 1260 days we come up with a 360-day year. Revelation 11:2 and 13:5 uses the phrase “forty-two months,” thus 42 months equals 1260 days and that equals time, times and half a time. Therefore a month equals 30 days and a year equals 360 days. So prophecy years, by comparing these passages, are 360-day years.

If we look at this in terms of Daniel’s computation, we take the 69 weeks and multiply that by seven periods it comes to 483, then take 483 and multiply that by 360, we come out with 173, 880 days. So from March 5^th, 444 BC and adding 173,880 days, we come to March 30^th AD 33 which is the date of Christ’s triumphal entry. As a verification of this, if we take 444 BC to AD 33 there is 476 years. Multiply 476 years x 365-1/4 days = 173, 855 days. Add to that the number of days from March 5^th to March 30^th, which is 25 days, and we come up with 173, 880 days. That once again confirms the figure. This is an extremely precise prophecy that is fulfilled down to the day. So there is true predictive prophecy in Daniel.

The purpose of Daniel was to give the people a prophetic hope. In Ezekiel the purpose is to explain the glories that will come. In the first part of Ezekiel are prophesies of judgment against Judah and Jerusalem in chapter one through chapter twenty-four. Then from chapter twenty-five to chapter twenty-two there are prophecies against all of the various Gentile nations and how God is going to bring them to judgment during this time, culminating in the battle of Armageddon. From chapter thirty-three to chapter forty-eight there are detailed prophecies given about Israel’s final restoration to the land and what things are going to look like in the millennial kingdom. One section in chapter forty starts with a detailed description of worship in the Millennium. There are five distinct purposes given in this section for the millennial temple.

1. There is a restoration temple to demonstrate the holiness of God. It is the holiness of God that has been challenged through all of man’s rebelliousness through all of the ages, and it is in this millennial temple that there is going to be the place of the Messiah, the presence of God on earth, and this will be where all of the nations will come to worship God. There will be a demonstration through all of the sacrifices, through all of the pomp and circumstance, of God’s holiness.
2. It will provide a dwelling place for the divine glory. In Ezekiel chapter four we see the removal of the Shekinah glory from the holy place, and it goes to the exterior of Jerusalem, then to the mountains, and then it departs. God’s presence has left Jerusalem. The Shekinah glory never returned to the temple. When they rebuilt the temple under Zerubbabel and under Ezra at the return the glory of the Lord never returned. If they had an ark of the covenant in the post-exilic temple it wasn’t associated with the Shekinah glory. It is not the physical wood box covered in gold that has value, it was that this was where God dwelt.
3. There will be a place to perpetuate the memorial of sacrifice. A lot of people have problems with the restoration of animal sacrifice but if we think about it, when we come to the millennial kingdom which is perfect environment under the perfect rule of the Davidic King, there is going to be very little opportunity for overt sin on earth. There will not be much evidence around for the horribleness of sin. So how are the citizens of the kingdom who were born in the kingdom with a sin nature, and who still need to be saved, be reminded on the horrible nature of sin. It is through this visible demonstration of the killing of the sacrificial animals daily that is going to give them this visible demonstration of the horror of sin. Just as the Lord’s table is a memorial for the church the sacrifice is a memorial for Israel.
4. It will provide a center for the divine government. This is where the throne of David will be.
5. It will provide a victory over the curse of sin because it is from this center point of the temple that Ezekiel sees a river flowing, and it is this living river that flows eastward into the Dead Sea. It is life-giving water and it is also a reminder and a picture of what will be in the eternal state when out of the throne of God there is a river flowing.

In Ezekiel 40-46 there are detailed descriptions given. It is very precise. Ezekiel 40:5 ^NASB “And behold, there was a wall on the outside of the temple all around, and in the man’s hand was a measuring rod of six cubits, {each of which was} a cubit and a handbreadth. So he measured the thickness of the wall, one rod; and the height, one rod. [2] Then he went to the gate which faced east, went up its steps and measured the threshold of the gate, one rod in width; and the other threshold {was} one rod in width. [3] The guardroom {was} one rod long and one rod wide; and {there were} five cubits between the guardrooms. And the threshold of the gate by the porch of the gate facing inward {was} one rod.” When we read through this it is like reading a blueprint, there is tremendous details and it isn’t just some sort of vague image or figurative expression for the return of God. It is too precise and it gives every single detail.

Ezekiel 40-48 describes what the Millennium will look like when the new covenant is brought in, and Israel is going to be restored to the land in their full glory, new temple, new sacrificial system, with a new priesthood; all of which will be geared toward a memorialization of what the Messiah did. So the point of Daniel and Ezekiel is to give God’s revelation to the people who are under this tremendous adversity. They are out of the land in discipline but God is still in control of history. The God who controls the broad sweep of history must also control the minutia of history. So even though they are under tremendous adversity and don’t know how this is going to work out they can know that in the end this is what God is doing in His plan and purpose in human history. This is the message that comforted the Jews when they were out of the land during the exile.