One of the most important prophecy passages in the whole Bible is that of God’s prophecy given to Daniel in Daniel 9:24-27. This passage constitutes one of the most amazing prophecies in all the Bible. If worked out logically, this text is both seminal and determinative in the outworking of one’s understanding of Bible prophecy. Especially for those of us who believe that prophecy should be understood literally, it is essential that a right understanding of this central text be developed and cultivated. Thus, with this article, I am beginning a series that examines Daniel’s prophecy for the purpose of providing a consistently literal interpretation of the passage.

Enemies of Literal Interpretation

Critics of the literal interpretation of Bible prophecy must strike down the plain meaning of Daniel’s prophecy in their failed attempts to strike down the prophetic precision found in biblical prophecy. Critic, Gary DeMar declares:

While nearly all Bible scholars agree that the first sixty-nine weeks of Daniel’s prophecy refer to the time up to Jesus’ crucifixion, only dispensationalists [literal interpreters like myself, T.D.I.] believe that the entire seventieth week is yet to be fulfilled. Without a futurized seventieth week, the dispensationalist system falls apart. There can be no pretribulational rapture, great tribulation, or rebuilt temple without the gap. How do dispensationalists find a gap in a text that makes no mention of a gap?
I agree with DeMar, that much rides on Daniel’s prophecy. I hope to demonstrate in this and coming articles that the only interpretation of Daniel’s seventy-weeks that explains all aspects of this great prophecy is the consistently literal approach.

Should the overall approach of this prophecy be literal or allegorical? If literal, then this would mean that the numbers should be taken literally and do count. Yet some think that numbers don’t count.

This facilitates the adoption of the symbolical interpretation of the numbers, which, . . . we regard as the only possible one, because it does not necessitate our changing the seventy years of the exile into years of the restoration of Jerusalem, and placing the seven years, which the text presents as the first period of the seventy weeks, last.
Harry Bultema observes:

The angel himself gives a literal explanation and it would be nonsensical to insist on giving a symbolical interpretation of a literal explanation. If the exegetes had always obeyed the angel’s interpretation as is evident from practically every word he speaks, then this text would never have been so obscured by all kinds of human conjectures and imagined “deep” insights.
Reasons For Literal Numbers

There are solid reasons why the numbers in Daniel’s prophecy should be taken literally. First, chapter 9 opens with Daniel realizing from Jeremiah’s writings that Israel’s captivity would last 70 years. These were literal years. Since the prophecy delivered by Gabriel to Daniel in 9:24-27 is related to the 70-year captivity, it follows that the 70 weeks of years are equally literal. Second, since definite numbers are used in the prophecy (7, 62, and 1 weeks), it would be strange indeed for such odd numbers to not have literal meaning. Leon Wood asks, “Why should definite numbers be applied to periods of indefinite lengths?” Nothing in the context suggests a non-literal use of numbers in this prophecy.

Setting the Context

We know from the beginning of chapter 9 (verse 2) that Daniel had read about “the number of 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.” The two passages which Daniel surely studied were Jeremiah 25:11-12 and 29:10-14. Both texts clearly speak of Israel’s Babylonian captivity as limited to a 70-year period. Both passages also blend into their texts, statements that look forward to a time of ultimate fulfillment and blessing for the nation of Israel. This is why Daniel appears to think that when the nation returns to their land, then ultimate blessing (the millennial kingdom) will coincide with their return. Daniel’s errant thinking about the timing of God’s plan for Israel occasioned the Lord’s sending of Gabriel “to give you insight with understanding” (Dan. 9:22).

God was not yet ready to bring history to its destined final climax. Thus, He told Daniel that He was going stretch out history by seventy times seven years (i.e., 490 years). Dr. David Cooper wrote the following paraphrase that I think accurately captures the sense of the passage:

Daniel, you have been thinking that the final restoration will be accomplished and the full covenant blessings will be realized at the close of these seventy years of exile in Babylon. On this point you are mistaken. You are not now on the eve of the fulfillment of this wonderful prediction. Instead of its being brought to pass at this time, I am sent to inform you that there is decreed upon your people and the Holy City a period of “seventy sevens” of years before they can be realized. At the conclusion of this period of 490 years the nation of Israel will be reconciled and will be reinstated into the divine favor and will enter into the enjoyment of all the covenant blessings.
The Meaning of “Weeks”

One of the Hebrew classes I took while a student at Dallas Theological Seminary was called “Exegesis of Old Testament Problem Passages,” taught by Dr. Kenneth Barker. Dr. Barker thought that Daniel 9:24-27 had more problems for an interpreter to solve than any other passage in the entire Old Testament. Dr. Barker did not mean by the term “problem” that these made the text unknowable, but that an item was difficult and required great care and skill to determine the meaning. He thought that there were 14 problems that an interpreter needed to solve in order to correctly understand the passage. The first issue that needs to be dealt with was the meaning of the term “weeks,” found at the beginning of verse 24.

For those aquatinted with Hebrew, they will notice that the same word appears twice at the beginning of verse 24. That twice used word is “sâbu‘îm,” meaning “seventy sevens.” This Hebrew word appears first as a plural noun, followed by the participle form, functioning as an adjective. That this Hebrew phrase should be rendered as “seventy sevens,” is unanimously agreed upon by representatives of all interpretative schools. There is also great consensus that the “seventy sevens” refers to years, since this is what Daniel was contemplating in Jeremiah 25:11-12; 29:10-14, as evident in Daniel 9:2. Thus, our Lord has in mind seventy weeks of years, or 490 years.

The next word appearing in the Hebrew text in verse 24 is a verb translated “have been decreed.” This word appears only here in the entire Old Testament. This verb has the basic meaning of “cut,” “cut off,” and came to mean “divide,” or “determine.” It appears that Gabriel choose this unique word to emphasis that God was carefully choosing or determining the length of Israel’s history. “Just as a wise person never cuts or snips at random, the Lord as the all-wise God does so even less. All His works are determined form eternity, and the times also are only in His hands.” Wood adds, “The thought is that God had cut off these 490 years from the rest of history through which to accomplish the deliverances needed for Israel.” G. H. Lang declares:

Decreed means divided or severed off from the whole period of world-empire in the hands of the Gentiles, as to which Daniel was already well informed. It points to a fixed and limited period, of definite duration, forming part of a longer period the duration of which is not fixed, or at least not declared.
Daniel’s People and City

For whom did God reveal this period of prophetic destiny? The text says that they have been decreed “for your people and your holy city.” This is such an obvious statement, yet too many interpreters attempt to shoehorn in a people not mentioned in the passage. In the sixth century b.c., when Daniel wrote, who were Daniel’s people and holy city? Clearly it can only refer to Israel as Daniel’s people and Jerusalem as Daniel’s holy city. Yet many interpreters insist that it means something more, something different than what the text actually says. For instance, H. C. Leupold says, “Here, as so often in prophecy, terms like God’s “people” and God’s “holy city” broaden out to the point where they assume a breadth of meaning like that found in the New Testament (cf. Gal. 6:16).” Another non-literalist, E. J. Young, says, “It is true that the primary reference is to Israel after the flesh, and the historical Jerusalem, but since this very vs. describes the Messianic work, it also refers to the true people of God, those who will benefit because of the things herein described.”

Notice that both allegorizers appeal to reasons that are outside of the text. They just believe that it refers to individuals beyond Israel because that’s what they believe. Therefore, the text must have in mind some beyond what it actually does say. This is a clear example of reading meaning into the text from one’s own belief system, which is not what the Bible wants us to do. Paul warns in 1 Corinthians 4:6, “that in us you might learn not to exceed what is written.” Gabriel goes out of his way to inform Daniel that the seventy weeks of years are decree for Israel and Jerusalem. Lang notes, “The endeavour to apply this prophecy, in general or in detail, to others than Daniel’s people, Israel, and Daniel’s city, Jerusalem, is an outrage upon exegesis, being forbidden in advance by the express terms used.” Gabriel says that God has specifically cut away those 490 years for Israel and Jerusalem, which would not include the addition of anyone else. Wood expands upon this idea and notes:

It should be noted that Gabriel said the 490 years will be in reference to the Jewish people and the Jewish capital city, which would seem to exclude any direct concern with Gentiles. That this concern is to be with the city, as well as the people, militates against the idea that the 490 years carry reference only to Christ’s first coming and not to His second. It is difficult to see how the physical city of Jerusalem was involved in the deliverance from sin which Christ then effected but it will be in the deliverance from the destructive oppression which the Antichrist will bring prior to Christ’s second coming.
In my next installment I will examine the six purposes stated in the second half of verse 24.

No matter how the problems of today are defined, increasingly the world believes that the only viable solutions are of a global nature. Everywhere we turn, globalism is being talked about and touted as the only answer to mankind’s problems. I agree wholeheartedly with Dr. LaHaye’s recent comment that “Two of the signs all pre-trib prophecy scholars most watch for are Israel and global government.” No doubt that Israel is God’s super sign of the end-times. And in concert with Israel’s recent rise is the development of a global consciousness for the first time since the Tower of Babel.

In a recent article I wrote on “Signs of The Times and Prophetic Fulfillment,” I noted that we appear to be at the end of the church age because God is currently setting the stage for the next phase of history, known as the Tribulation. I said, “we can see that already God is preparing or setting the stage of the world in which the great drama of the tribulation will unfold. In this way this future time casts shadows of expectation in our own day so that current events provide discernable signs of the times.”

Global Stage Setting

I recall in the early 1970s, when I first starting learning about Bible prophecy, it was common for some to cite a few events evident in our day of the move toward global governance. Today there are so many things happening in virtually every area of life that it is enough to make one’s head spin. Yet, there seems to be a decreasing interest by Christians in this obvious trend.

There is a rash of events that are currently in the news about those who are gathering to consider a global agenda. For example, September 6-8, 2000 was to see the U. N. Millennium Summit, “billed as the largest-ever gathering of world leaders” in New York City which is expected to draw a record 150 heads of state and government. Louise Frechette of Canada, the deputy secretary-general of the United Nations and spokesman for this U. N. planned event said, the summit should “give a sense of direction to the organization from which its work should then flow.” What work? Why the work toward globalism, of course. Secretary-General of the U. N., Kofi Annan, has “called for benevolent globalization in the 21st century to insure that the information revolution does not leave billions of people behind in poverty.” The Secretary-General “asked world leaders to commit themselves to a number of targets by 2015.” “But still under debate are proposals that would highlight human rights over national sovereignty or strongly assert the right of non-interference in domestic affairs.” Interspersed throughout the summit will be dozens of “mini-summits” designed to reach consensus on various issues.

Events like the U. N. Millennium Summit are occurring with greater frequency and are increasingly taken more seriously. Clearly the world is on a path to global rule. It is not a matter of “if,” but only a matter of “when.” The Clinton administration has recently committed the United States to participation in a global court. Such a move, without the required Congressional approval, is just one more step toward the compromise of U. S. sovereignty and a global rule. It appears that globalists are working overtime in an attempt to somehow implement a global tax upon the citizens of the world so that the U. N. can have an increased revenue source and gain jurisdiction over citizens of the world in what would be a major step toward global governance. Globalism is coming, faster than most may realize.

We see the urge for globalism in at least the following areas: government, economics, religion, the environment, military, commerce and trade, manufacturing, banking, business, population control, education, management, publishing, entertainment, personal health and well-being, wealth redistribution, agriculture, law, science, medicine, sports, travel, music, electronics, the internet and information availability, and so many more areas. With each day that passes, the mantra of our day is the famous statement of Los Angeles citizen, Rodney King, when he said, “Why can’t we all just get along?” Well, what’s wrong with globalism?

Is Globalism Unbiblical?

The only global government authorized by God and His Word will be when Jesus Christ returns to planet earth at the second advent and rules the world with a rod of iron from Jerusalem. All other global government, no matter how “benevolent” its intention, is frowned upon by Scripture. Yet, the Bible teaches that God will allow evil to form a global government for three and one-half years during the second half of the tribulation for the purpose of our Lord’s global judgment just prior to the second coming of Christ and the establishment of His global rule for 1,000 years upon earth. Thus, current moves toward globalism are preparation for antichrist, not for Jesus Christ, and should be opposed by Bible-believing Christians.

Most Christians have at least some vague familiarity with the Tower of Babel incident shortly after the Flood, which lead to the splintering of the human race into factions. The traditional understanding of this story (Gen. 10:8-14, 31-31; 11:1-9) indicates that the erection of the Tower corresponds with Nimrod’s beginning of the kingdom of man at Babel (Gen. 10:10). Thus, Nimrod is seen as the father of the kingdom of man as a vehicle of rebellion against God and His kingdom. It is at this point God judged the first United Nations building, confounded the single human language into many, and established the Divine Institution of “tribal diversity” to promote social stability.

What is tribal diversity and how has God used this to promote social stability? Tribal diversity is when God divided the human race into diverse tribal units so that mankind would not be inclined toward unity. Due to the fall of Adam into sin, all descendants of Adam have a sin nature. This means that socially, man wants to unite in his rebellion against God. Such unity was displayed before the flood and led to the global flood. God promised not to destroy humanity by a flood again. At the end of history He will use fire. In the interim, God keeps the human race from self-annihilation through the restraint of civil government and tribal diversity. Charles Clough says, “In Genesis 9:25-27 an outline of postdiluvian history is revealed which centers upon the three sons of Noah—Ham, Shem, and Japheth. Further subdivisions are indicated in Genesis 10—11 and Deuteronomy 32:8. “Throughout the postdiluvian period, then,” explains Clough, “God preserved man’s social stability and health by playing off one group or tribe against another to maximize true progress and retard the influence of evil (cf. Acts 17:26-27).” Since the flood, God has used tribal diversity as an instrument to pit one people group against another, so that when one society becomes entirely pagan, He can judge or restrain its evil influence through another people. Thus, like compartments in the hull of a ship, damage to one compartment will no sink the entire ship. This is what God uses to restrain global government until the tribulation comes when, through the leadership of the antichrist, mankind will overcome this restraint, resulting in a second global judgment at Christ’s return. The day in which we live, appears to be on the threshold of smashing God’s institutions for the supposed higher goal of erecting a new Babel.

Modern globalism was first put forth by Dante in the fourteenth century in order to counter the all-encompassing stranglehold of the Roman Catholic Church. Immanuel Kant developed globalism as a philosophical idea half a millennium later. The military turmoil of the last two hundred years have seen globalism gradually grow to the place that it is considered the only reasonable solution to a multiplicity of problems by secular thinkers. Nevertheless, God is as opposed to globalism today as He was to the one world spirit displayed through the ancient tower of Babel. His judgment will be just as certain in the future as it was in the distant past.

The Mystery of Iniquity

No matter how hard apostate man struggles to apply a global solution to mankind’s problems, he will not succeed until God removes His restraint of man’s evil impulse after the rapture of the church. Paul tells us in 2 Thessalonians 2 that “the man of lawlessness (the antichrist)” (verse 3), will not be revealed until “he who now restrains. . . is taken out of the way” (verse 7). The restraint will be removed at that future time when God will remove His church through the rapture. The removal at the rapture will then allow for the rise of antichrist, who will begin the seven-year tribulation by making a covenant with the nation of Israel. The final three and one-half years will see antichrist implementing global governance in rebellion against God. Paul told the Thessalonians that “the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way” (verse 7). Ever since Babel, Satan has been working to bring about his agenda of globalism, but God restrains from reaching the flowering of his kingdom until after the rapture, during the tribulation. Because the mystery of lawlessness (i.e., iniquity in the KJV) has been at work since Babel, we can see evidence down through history, even in our own day that the globalization of antichrist is coming. Step by step it creeps, but it is coming. This is why we can see evidences of globalism today, before the rapture.

Paul further warns the Thessalonians that the mystery of iniquity is a satanic program that advances through deception and guile (verse 10). We can gain insight into the present working of the mystery of iniquity by studying the maturity of the kingdom of man as it will be brought out into the open during the second-half of the tribulation. Revelation 17 and 18 describes this satanic kingdom as being composed of a religious aspect as depicted by “the great harlot who sits on many waters” (Rev. 17:1; cf. 17:1-18); and the political and commercial aspect of the kingdom of man (cf. Rev. 18:1-24).

Conclusion

It should not be surprising that we see the development globalization advancing at an alarming rate when we consider the insight into such developments in light of biblical teachings about past and future growth of the kingdom of man. It should be clear that all globalization in our own day is the result of a satanic impulse, not one from above. Even when we find similar trends being espoused in the Evangelical Church, they should be understood as an invasion of the enemy (cf. 1 Tim. 4; 2 Tim. 3). We should not be surprised to learn that efforts toward a one world government have been and continue to be the efforts of so many in high places of government and commerce; and that they use the stealth of deception to further their dreams and goals. This understanding provides a framework for understanding, interpreting, and standing against many of the trends and events of our own day, knowing from whence they have come and to where they are leading. We take great relief in knowing that God is just and will one day judge this ungodly world. But at the same time, while we are eagerly waiting for a Savior from heaven, we should be aggressively preaching the gospel of God’s grace to any who will listen. Maranatha!