What does Daniel 9:22 mean?
Gabriel, the messenger angel (Daniel 8:15–16; Luke 1:19, 26) has arrived in response to Daniel's passionate prayer (Daniel 9:1–3) for Israel's restoration from exile (2 Kings 17:1–8; 2 Chronicles 36:5–7; Jeremiah 25:7–11; Daniel 1:1–7). Daniel's previous experiences concerned future Gentile kingdoms but said extraordinarily little about Israel (Daniel 2:19–20; 7:1; 8:1). After the fall of Babylon, Daniel began to pray in response to promises he read in Jeremiah. In response, God dispatched Gabriel to reveal information about Israel's future and to enable Daniel to understand.It has always been God's will that believers not only read His Word but also that they understand it. In one of the Gospels, Jesus makes comments which the writer, Matthew, encourages the reader to carefully grasp (Matthew 24:15). After Daniel, when the exiles returned to Jerusalem, they gathered in the square before the Water Gate to hear the reading of the written words of God's laws. There, certain Levites "helped the people to understand the Law" (Nehemiah 8:7). The Levites read from the Law and "gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading" (Nehemiah 8:8).
Daniel 9:20–23 comes in response to Daniel's heartfelt prayers on behalf of his people (Daniel 9:3–19). The angel Gabriel arrives on a mission to provide Daniel with greater understanding. After this brief introduction, Gabriel will relate one of the most famous prophecies in the Bible. His message depicts the fate of Israel and gives insight into the end times.
Darius became king when Babylon fell to Medo-Persia. Daniel compared this to writings from Jeremiah, and realized the exile of Israel was almost over. As he prayed for God's intervention, the angel Gabriel arrived to provide further explanation. Gabriel's prophecy ties the arrival of an "anointed one," or "Messiah," or "Christ," to a moment in history followed by a set interval of time. This prediction includes dire moments for Israel and Jerusalem.
