What role does "the Anointed One" play in fulfilling God's promises in Daniel 9:25? Unpacking the Verse • Daniel 9:25: “Know and understand this: From the issuance of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the arrival of the Anointed One, the ruler, there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks. It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of distress.” • God places a precise time-stamp on history: 69 prophetic “weeks” (7 + 62), totalling 483 years. • The countdown stops at “the arrival of the Anointed One.” His coming is the hinge on which God’s redemptive clock turns. Identifying “the Anointed One” • “Anointed One” (Hebrew māšîaḥ) = Messiah, the promised King-Priest. • New Testament writers connect Jesus of Nazareth directly to this title: – John 1:41: “We have found the Messiah”. – Luke 4:18-21 cites Isaiah 61, then Jesus says, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled.” – Acts 10:38: “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power.” Embedded Promises in Daniel 9 Reading verse 25 in the flow of verse 24, six divine objectives frame the promise: 1. Finish transgression 2. Put an end to sin 3. Atone for iniquity 4. Bring in everlasting righteousness 5. Seal up vision and prophecy 6. Anoint the Most Holy Place How the Anointed One Fulfills Those Promises • Marks the exact prophetic moment God foretold – Galatians 4:4: “When the fullness of time had come, God sent His Son.” • Brings atonement and ends sin’s reign – Daniel 9:26 speaks of His being “cut off.” – Hebrews 9:26: “He has appeared once for all…to do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself.” • Ushers in everlasting righteousness – 2 Corinthians 5:21: “So that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” • Confirms and seals prophecy – Luke 24:44: “Everything written about Me…must be fulfilled.” • Guarantees the restoration of Jerusalem and the temple presence – Ultimately realized in the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:2-3). • Bridges the old covenant promises to the New Covenant reality – Jeremiah 31:31-34 finds its mediator in Jesus (Hebrews 8:6-13). Timeline Highlights • Decree to rebuild (Nehemiah 2, 445 BC) → 483 years → Triumphal Entry/Passion Week (~AD 32-33). • The prophecy’s mathematical precision underlines God’s reliability and the Messiah’s centrality. Living It Out • Confidence: “All the promises of God are ‘Yes’ in Christ” (2 Corinthians 1:20). • Urgency: God’s calendar is exact; respond to the Anointed One while the door is open (2 Corinthians 6:2). • Hope: The same Messiah who fulfilled the first 69 weeks will complete the 70th, bringing final restoration (Daniel 9:27; Revelation 22:20). The Anointed One stands as the focal point, time-keeper, sacrifice, and guarantor of every promise God makes in Daniel 9:25—and by extension, of every promise God makes to His people. |
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