Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy.  Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.  And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for Himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.  And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
Daniel 9:24-27

Daniel has just prayed, confessing his  own sins, and the sins of his people.  He is distressed about what sin had done to them all, and after he closes the prayer Gabriel who  is an angel, Daniel sees as a man, but this “man” is a messenger of the LORD with a message for Dan explaining the reason for the captivity of Israel/Judah in Babylon.

Verse twenty four gives us the answer as to why God’s people are in Babylon;

1.  To finish the transgression;
2.  To  make an end to sin;
3. To make reconciliation for iniquity;
4.  To bring in everlasting righteousness;
5.  To seal up the vision and prophecy;
6.  And to anoint the Most Holy.

Daniel had been reading the words of the prophet Jeremiah where he said that the captivity was for seventy (70) years (Jeremiah 25:11-12; 29:10 and Daniel 9:2)

What was the LORD’S purpose for the captives of Israel/Judah in Babylon?

To fulfill all of God’s purposes, especially the anointing of the Most Holy.  Which can be none other than the sinless Son of God, Jesus Christ. He is the Most Holy.

He is the only One who can bring in everlasting righteousness.  He is also the only One who can cleanse and forgive our sins.  Because of Jesus there is no other, there  is no other way for forgiveness.  Because of the gift of His own life on the cross, His burial, and resurrection we can believe Him, trust Him, and surrender to His will and way.

Begin your new way, the right way of life today, by calling on the  name of the Lord Jesus in repentance and faith in Him, and Him alone.