Good Shepherd Community Church

Big Idea
God's promises and prophecies call us to fervent prayer and unshakeable hope.

1. God's promises call us to fervent prayer - Daniel 9:1-19

a. God's promise (Dan. 9:1-2)

i. Jeremiah 29:10-14
ii. "Prayer is answering God" - Tim Keller

b. Daniel's fervent prayer (Dan. 9:3)

c. Three movements in Daniel's prayer:

i. Adoration (Dan. 9:4)
ii. Confession (Dan. 9:5-15)
iii. Petition (Dan. 9:16-19)

2. God's prophecies call us to unshakeable hope - Daniel 9:20-27 (CSB)

a. God hears and answers prayer (Dan. 9:20-23 CSB)

b. 70 "weeks" of years are decreed to: (Dan. 9:24 CSB)

i. Bring the rebellion to an end
ii. Put a stop to sin
iii. Atone for iniquity
iv. Bring in everlasting righteousness
v. Seal up vision and prophecy
vi. Anoint the most hold place

c. The first 7 weeks (49 years - Dan. 9:25a CSB)

i. Begins with the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem in either 458 (to Ezra) or 445 BC (to Nehemiah).
ii. Ends with the completion of the work to rebuild Jerusalem 49 years later in either 409 or 396 BC.

d. The next 62 weeks (434 years - Dan. 9:25b CSB)

i. Begins at the end of the first 7 weeks.
ii. The rebuilt city of Jerusalem stands, "but in difficult times."
iii. Ends at some point during the first coming of Christ (“an Anointed One”), likely at his baptism (when He is anointed by the Holy Spirit) or when He enters Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.

e. The gap between the 69th and 70th weeks (an undefined period of time - Dan. 9:26 CSB)

i. Includes the crucifixion of Christ when He makes atonement for sin (“the Anointed One will be cut off…”)
ii. Includes the destruction of the temple again in AD 70 by the people of the Antichrist (“the coming ruler”).
iii. Includes the entire “time of the Gentiles” (see Luke 21:24 and Rom. 11:25) and the “many antichrists” (see 1 John 2:18) until Israel’s 70th week begins in the future (“until the end there will be war and desolations are decreed”).
iv. This is where we currently live. We live in the gap.

f. The 70th week (the last 7 years before Christ returns - Dan. 9:27 CSB)

i. Begins when the final Antichrist (“the coming ruler”) arises in the future and makes a covenant with Israel.
ii. For the first 3 ½ years, there will be relative peace, for the second 3 ½ years, there will be persecution and great tribulation (“a stop to sacrifice and offering” and “the abomination of desolation”).
iii. Ends at the second coming of Christ when Antichrist is destroyed (“the decreed destruction”) and Christ sets up His kingdom on the earth.

Oneness & Witness Takeaway:
A week of fervent prayer for the promises of God:
- Monday through Friday
- 6:30 to 7:00 AM in the South Auditorium
- If you can’t make it, commit to 30 minutes of prayer at another time each day.