I went on praying and confessing my sin and the sin of my people, pleading with the LORD my God for Jerusalem, his holy mountain. As I was praying, Gabriel, whom I had seen in the earlier vision, came swiftly to me at the time of the evening sacrifice. He explained to me, “Daniel, I have come here to give you insight and understanding. The moment you began praying, a command was given. And now I am here to tell you what it was, for you are very precious to God. Listen carefully so that you can understand the meaning of your vision.

“A period of seventy sets of seven has been decreed for your people and your holy city to finish their rebellion, to put an end to their sin, to atone for their guilt, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to confirm the prophetic vision, and to anoint the Most Holy Place. Now listen and understand! Seven sets of seven plus sixty-two sets of seven will pass from the time the command is given to rebuild Jerusalem until a ruler—the Anointed One—comes. Jerusalem will be rebuilt with streets and strong defenses, despite the perilous times.

“After this period of sixty-two sets of seven, the Anointed One will be killed, appearing to have accomplished nothing, and a ruler will arise whose armies will destroy the city and the Temple. The end will come with a flood, and war and its miseries are decreed from that time to the very end. The ruler will make a treaty with the people for a period of one set of seven, but after half this time, he will put an end to the sacrifices and offerings. And as a climax to all his terrible deeds, he will set up a sacrilegious object that causes desecration, until the fate decreed for this defiler is finally poured out on him.”

Daniel 9:20-27

In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, the LORD fulfilled the prophecy he had given through Jeremiah.
Ezra 1:1

• Daniel, a godly man living in exile in Babylon, is reading the prophecies of Jeremiah and understands that the 70 years of exile are coming to an end. 
• He responds with a powerful prayer of confession and intercession for his people (Daniel 9:3-19). 
• In the midst of this prayer, the angel Gabriel appears to him to give him a precise, mind-boggling prophecy about the future of Israel and the coming of the Messiah.
• This passage has been the subject of countless interpretations and debates.
• The prophecy is given in direct response to Daniel's prayer. This highlights the importance of prayer in seeking God's will and wisdom. 
• Daniel wasn't just praying for something to happen; he was seeking to understand God's timing and plan. 
• God's response goes far beyond his immediate request and provides a grand-scale vision of history.
•  The 70 "Sevens": The core of the prophecy is the division of time into "seventy sevens" or "seventy weeks." 
• The Hebrew word for "week" can also mean "seven," so most translations render this as "seventy sevens of years," which equals 490 years. 
• This time period is specifically about God's plan for Daniel's people (Israel) and his "holy city" (Jerusalem). 
• The prophecy is divided into three parts:
  
  • 7 Sevens (49 years): The rebuilding of Jerusalem and the temple.
  • 62 Sevens (434 years): The period from the rebuilding to the coming of "an anointed one, a prince."
  • 1 Seven (7 years): This final period is filled with specific events, including the "cutting off" of the Messiah, the destruction of the city and temple, and a final covenant that is "confirmed with many for one seven." This final week is often interpreted as a future tribulation period.
• One of the most critical parts of the prophecy is that after the 62 "sevens," the "anointed one" will be "cut off" and have nothing. 
• This is a direct prophecy of the death of Jesus Christ, who was crucified and had no earthly kingdom at that time.
• This passage gives us a powerful reminder that God is in complete control of history, from the small details of our lives to the grand sweep of human events. He works with precision, fulfilling prophecies down to the year and the day.
• The prophecy's focus is on the Messiah. It provides specific details that point directly to Jesus Christ: His timing, His sacrificial death, and His ultimate victory. Daniel 9:20-27 gives us one of the clearest Old Testament prophecies about Jesus.
• God's prophecies are precise and will be fulfilled perfectly.
• The prophecy of the "seventy sevens" is a detailed roadmap of God's plan for Israel, with a key focus on the coming of the Messiah.

We can have confidence that God's plan for the future, including the return of Jesus, is just as certain as the prophecies that have already been fulfilled. Long for His return!