Triumphant Grace
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Introduction
Introduction
I was reminded recently of one of the highlights of Phoebe’s sports career; her sophomore year when her volleyball team qualified for the State tournament...
Phoebe doesn’t cry often, but that evening the waterworks were flowing as they accomplished something that VCS hadn’t accomplished for over 15 years and hasn’t sense.
When we experience a triumph, whether in sports or anywhere else in our lives, it is an exciting feeling that is hard to explain. And, it is especially sweet when you’ve faced significant hardship and/or losses.
In the church we often looked forward to a triumphant when at last we are in Heaven with our Lord and our faith becomes sight. And, let’s face it, there will be no triumph in life that even comes close to that day. However, today we experience what we could call triumphant grace, grace that has triumphed over the sin that would have ensnared us to hell. Truly, grace is an amazing triumph that we can experience today.
However, the road of grace isn’t always easy, as will learn from Daniel 9:20-23.
Body
Body
Remembering the text we looked at last week, Daniel prayed for forgiveness for his people and himself, praying that God would forgive His people and allow them to return to the Promised Land, as was prophesied in Jeremiah.
Verses 20-23
Not every prayer is answered immediately, but sometimes they are.
In Daniel’s case, his prayer for His people reclaiming the Promised Land is answered, but not necessarily in a way he might have asked for, as we will see.
The angel Gabriel is called “the man Gabriel” here because he appeared as a human to Daniel at this time...
…to give you insight and understanding...
…a word went out...
…you are greatly loved...
Verse 24-27
This vision is one of the most widely interpreted and disputed passages in the OT…major interpretations fall in the following four board categories and hinge greatly on a person’s view of when the prophecy is to be fulfilled:
During the time of Antiochus IV (Maccabean fulfillment) ;
During the time of Christ (first advent);
During the time of the destruction of the temple, around AD 70 (post-first advent);
During a future eschatological event (second advent).
Which one is correct? I’m not sure that’s a fair question.
Generally speaking, those who hold these divergent views typically love Jesus and believe Scripture as much as you and I...
All have strengths and weaknesses...
While I personally lean towards the Maccabean fulfillment, I think we should be very careful about putting our blinders on when it comes to the other views. Why?
There is a bigger, more important, more unifying point.
Daniel’s book is a book that set out to remind Jewish exiles that God is still in control, despite what they have experienced and to give them a hope for better days to come.
Therefore, regardless of how one interprets this passage, the most important “take-away” must be to encourage believers that, no matter how troubling our times might be, God is in control and His people have a wonderful hope for better days to come.
A lot more on that in just a moment, but let’s take a few minutes and pick some of the low-hanging fruit when it comes to the phrases of this passage in order to have a better grasp on what’s going on here.
Seventy weeks...
While Jeremiah’s prophecy called for seventy years of exile before the Jews would return to the Promised Land, here Gabriel speaks of “seventy sevens”, a phrase that doesn’t translate well into English.
The idea is seventy weeks of years, or seventy periods of seven (i.e. each “seven” is a group of seven years). When totaled, that would likely correlate to 490 years.
Depending on one’s interpretation of this text, it is either interpreted literally as 490 years, or symbolically, pointing to God’s sevenfold judgment of Leviticus 26.
…to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place.
These six objectives are at the heart of this answer to Daniel’s prayer and will be accomplished during this time period.
Obviously, depending on which interpretation one holds to will determine how they see these being fulfilled.
With the return to the Promise Land and the rebuilding of the temple, these six things were accomplished, in a way from a Jewish perspective. However, as NT Christians we would be mistaken not to see a fuller fulfillment of this in Jesus Christ. Why?
Yes, the rebuilt temple brought these things to some degree, they were more fully fulfilled through Christ Jesus Himself...
((Look at each one briefly))
Verses 25-27 are difficult and are typically interpreted according to the four major interpretations I mentioned earlier.
But, getting away from the controversies, something most would agree with is that Gabriel is basically telling Daniel:
Yes, God will bring the people back to the Promised Land, but it will be a difficult experience. They will experience persecution, they will fall back into sin, and eventually they will lose it again.
Yet, the fact that there is an “anointed one” to come is vitally important. In fact, two different anointed ones are mentioned.
Contextually, he’s likely pointing to the High Priests Joshua and Onias III during the Maccabean revolt, yet we know a far greater Anointed One was to come soon after that, and establish an the only true everlasting kingdom!
But, it wasn’t all good news from the great Anointed One. Remember what He said:
“So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
This connects directly to what Daniel saw here in chapter 9, and encouraged His followers to watchfulness, in their time and in ours, as the devil is still hard at work trying to destroy God’s people.
So What?
So What?
God has a rescue plan for His people.
God has a rescue plan for His people.
God’s rescue plan for Israel would bring them back to the Promised Land. Times would be hard, but they had a chance to begin again.
Unfortunately, just as Daniel prayed would not happen, the people once again fell into sin and would experience times of great trouble and would eventually lose their land again.
But after that time, God’s ultimate rescue plan began to unfold in the person of Jesus Christ...
God’s rescue plan now is the Gospel...
Jesus Christ alone finishes transgression once and for all, puts an end to sin, atones for iniquity, brings everlasting righteousness, seals both vision and prophet, and anoints a most holy place.
And we all have an opportunity to experience this when we put our faith in Jesus Christ.
God’s rescue plan leads to both abundant life today and everlasting life in the future.
God’s rescue plan leads to both abundant life today and everlasting life in the future.
Daniel’s prayer ends with a plea to God:
O my God, incline your ear and hear. Open your eyes and see our desolations, and the city that is called by your name. For we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy. O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive. O Lord, pay attention and act. Delay not, for your own sake, O my God, because your city and your people are called by your name.”
He desires that His people will have a good life in the Promise Land, in which they can worship and glorify Him.
Today, as His church, we can do this today because of what He has done and we will do this eternally as well.
Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.
Additionally, like Daniel, we can pray for God to bring about His purposes. Consider what Paul tells the church of Corinth:
Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
Do you pray, as the early church did, “Maranatha!” or “Come, O Lord!”
That, beloved, is triumphant grace!