1 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of Median descent, who was made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans— 2 in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, observed in the books the number of the years which was revealed as the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet for the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years. Daniel 9:1-2 (NASB)
One of the worst parts about expounding scripture while not allowing “what men say” to influence that exposition is that there will always be some people who are “offended” or in disagreement with the analysis….
I desire to offend no one. I deeply desire to be of use to my Lord in bringing His people into agreement about what His Word says. Therefore, I will continue to simply exposit scripture. As we have moved through Daniel I have tried very hard to look at extra-biblical sources only when necessary. I am very well aware that Daniel 9 is a hot button with some people. However, we must proceed.
Daniel was a very godly man. He was taken to Babylon before Nebuchadnezzar’s army destroyed Jerusalem. He was a youth who came into the King’s service as his “Prime Minister” because in him was found an excellent spirit. Daniel survived the Babylonian Kings who followed Nebuchadnezzar into the reign of Cyrus the first King of the Medo-Persian Empire. Daniel had a copy of Jeremiah’s prophecy about how long Jerusalem was to remain desolate. He read the part that we call Jeremiah 25:1-14. We will concentrate on vv8-14.
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