Seventy Sevens: Daniel 9:24
Gabriel’ focus is helping Daniel prepare God’s people for the coming of the Messiah. That’s our purpose, too. God calls us to go into the world and proclaim the grace and salvation He brought to the world through His Messiah. We help prepare people to understand how God deals with sin and rebellion once and for all.
Gabriel tells Daniel God will establish a period of seventy sevens once the exile ends. Many Bibles translate this as seventy weeks, which is not inherently wrong considering a week is seven days. The Hebrew word here, though, is not the word for week but for seven. Thus, Gabriel indicates God will use seventy sevens to accomplish His purposes.
The first item to be accomplished is finishing of the transgression. The Hebrew word used here is one of the strongest words for sin in their language. It is the heart of sin that is finished. A great alternative translation is to finish the rebellion. Human rebellion will find its pinnacle.
Next, God will make an end of sins. Literally, this phrase means to seal up the missing of the mark. Whereas the first item spoke about the severity of humanity’s rebellion, this item deals with day-to-day sin. Gabriel isn’t claiming humanity will stop sinning. Rather, God will seal up the sin. Perhaps a better way of thinking about this is God will contain the effects of sin.
Third, God will atone for our sins. Here, the word sin speaks more about the inward nature of sin. God will find a way to atone for our sinful nature.
Putting the first three items together, we see God’s plan. Humanity will expose its true rebellion, God will contain the effects of sin, and God will deal with our nature. Examining this list should make the reader think of the crucifixion. At the crucifixion, human rebellion reaches its head, God contains the effects of sin, and He makes it possible for our relationship to be restored.
The last three items on the list are also best seen through the lens of the crucifixion. Gabriel tells Daniel God will bring an age of righteousness, which can be seen as the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and the creation of the church. Gabriel also indicates that vision (oral prophecy) and prophecy (written prophecy) will be shut up. With the coming of the Holy Spirit, we have God’s Word living within us and no longer need vision and prophecy to hear from God. Finally, God will anoint a holy place. While sometimes thought of as the reconstruction of the temple, from the framework established here Gabriel could be speaking about the cross. The cross is how redemption comes, how God contains sin, how our relationship is restored, and how we can receive the Holy Spirit.
Gabriel’s focus is helping Daniel prepare God’s people for the coming of the Messiah.
