Our Babylonian Captivity
Revelation 18:4 says, “And
I heard another voice from heaven saying, ‘Come out of her, My people,
that you be not partaker of her sins and that you receive not of her
plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God has remembered
her iniquities.’”As far as what “Babylon the Great” is, I’ve already written a rather personal post on that called “Is the USA ‘Babylon the Great’?”
You
can click on the link there to read the post, it might surprise you.
But frankly, it grieves me a lot that there is so much confusion and
rancor about who God’s people are. So that’s one of the things I aim to
address here.I’m going to guess, if you’re reading this, that you are a Christian. So let’s look at an earlier chapter in the Book of Revelation that also talks about the people God is addressing . In chapter 12 of Revelation, another chapter where debate rages when it shouldn’t, we see “the woman in the wilderness”. Who is “the woman in the wilderness“? (Revelation 12:6 & 14)
It’s been the people of God by faith in Christ Jesus. Only.
It says in that chapter, “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony. And they loved not their lives unto the death.” (Revelation 12:11) Who has that been for the last 2000 years? It’s been the people of God by faith in Christ Jesus. Only. No ethnic group, not DNA check or genealogical testing. “You
are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. And if Christ’s,
then Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise.” (Galatians 3:28 & 29) Somebody needs to speak plainly about this.Who is supposed to “Come out of her My people” in Revelation 18? The same ones who were spoken of in Revelation 12. The endtime church. The bride of Christ “who has made herself ready” (Revelation 19:7) . No one else. May God grant faith and boldness to those who know this truth and may they proclaim it that “God is no respecter of persons” (Acts 10:34). He wasn’t at the time of the Early Church and He isn’t now.
the vast majority of American
Christians have been taught that Christianity for the last 2000 years is
just a “parenthesis”. This is not true.
“There’s neither Jew nor Greek, there’s neither bond or free, there’s neither male nor female in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). But the
vast majority of American Christians have been taught that Christianity
for the last 2000 years is just a “parenthesis”. This is not true.
Through the grace and power of the Holy Spirit poured out on Christian
disciples, missionaries, pastors and evangelists for the last 2000
years, they have “been for salvation unto the ends of the earth” (Isiah 49:6). That’s not a parenthesis.But who are those folks in “Babylon” in Revelation 18 who God calls in the very last days to come out? It’s virtually ever Christian alive right now in this world.
Because in the last days, “no man will be able to buy or sell unless they have a mark in their right hand or forehead”
(Revelation 13:17) . Right now the body of Christ can rock along in
their present “Babylonian Captivity”, as Martin Luther wrote about 500
years ago.But the hour will come when the goose will be cooked, our number will be up and it will be a case of “Choose you this day who you will serve.” (I Kings 18:21) Will you serve the New World Order which will have the economics of the world so tied up that you’ll have to received their economic “mark” in your hand or forehead? Or will you obey God’s call and command to “Come out of her My people”? (Revelation 18:4)
The final days are not going to be comfortable for easy Christians and rock-along disciples.
The final days are not going to be comfortable for easy Christians and rock-along disciples.
There’s going to be a division, clear and plain. At the time of Elijah,
backslidden Israel of that day was so weak and double minded, like so
many believers are now, that they really didn’t know what or who to
believe. So Elijah called them to Mount Carmel and told them, “How long do you hesitate between two opinions? If the Lord be God, serve Him. But if Baal (the heathen worldly god of the hour that most of them served then) be God, then serve him!” (I Kings 18:21)
But
in the final endtime, it’s not going to be as easy as that. It’s going
to be clear and simple. Get on board and join in with the New World
Order and its economic plan. Or be a renegade, an outcast, an enemy of
the nation and “your people”.“Our citizenship is in heaven“, Paul said (Philippians 3:20). But for many people, their national pride and allegiance will sorely test their commitment to God when the final world empire comes and all your “friends” bid you to jump on board with the New World Order.
I
hope you are making plans now. I hope you are already coming out of
Babylon in heart and mind. If so, that final split may not be so tough.
You’ve seen that you’re not of this world, you “have no continuing city”
(Hebrews 13:14) in this life but you seek one to come. Around 3500
years ago Joshua told the recently delivered people of God, who had been
led out of Egypt towards the promised land, “chose you this day whom you will serve”
(Joshua 24:15) the gods of Egypt which they’d just been delivered from,
or 1000 years later the gods of Babylon, or 2500 years farther on, the
gods of these times.The people of God for millennia have said with Joshua, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15) Who will do that in the days to come? Who will come out of Babylon the Great? Few? Many? Any? God help us that there will at least be a few. But then Jesus said, “When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8) If He does, it will only most likely flourish in those who have come out of Babylon.
This chapter is concentrated. There’s a tremendous amount of information conveyed in very few words.
The first part of Daniel chapter 9 can be called “the 69 weeks” or perhaps more accurately, “the 69 sevens”. This chapter is concentrated. There’s a tremendous amount of information conveyed in very few words.
In fact, there are really only 4 prophetic verses in the chapter and
we’re going to look at the first 3 of those in this class. To start
with, we need to know where we are in Daniel’s life and in the history
of the Jews.Daniel, as a young teenager, had been led away with some of the first captives that had been taken to Babylon from Jerusalem around 604 BC.
Then, though a miraculous series of events, Daniel ended up telling
Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, his dream, when the king couldn’t
remember it.But Daniel chapter 9 is near the end of Daniel’s life. In his 80’s now and has been working as a government official throughout his life. By this time, it’s not Babylon anymore; it’s the Medes and the Persians. So we’re looking at around 539 BC; the Jews are still in captivity, now under the Persians. Daniel chapter 9 starts like this.
“In
the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the lineage of the
Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans, in the first
year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the
years which came by the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet, that
He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.“ (Daniel 9:1 & 2)In our times, we look back to the prophecies of Daniel to see our future. But Daniel is looking back to a prophet before him. We’re finding Daniel reading the prophecies of Jeremiah. Here are the verses Daniel was reading, Jeremiah 29:10 through 13.
“For thus says the LORD, after seventy years are completed at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place.” And then the next verse says, “For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.“
That’s a beautiful, comforting verse. God has their best interests in mind. So He’s thinking thoughts of peace and not of evil. Then verse 13 says,“And you shall seek Me and find Me when you shall search for Me with all your heart.“
Israel was going to be taken captive and carried away to Babylon. And they were going to be there for 70 years.
The prophet Jeremiah was perhaps around the age of Daniel’s parents. God had told Jeremiah many years before that Israel was going to be taken captive and carried away to Babylon. And they were going to be there for 70 years. That’s what it says in Jeremiah 29:10, the verse that Daniel was reading. Let’s look at that verse again.“For thus says the LORD, after seventy years are completed at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place.“
So Daniel understood by reading Jeremiah, “Our captivity is going to be for 70 years.” And do you know how long it had been? It had been around 68 years. So the same way we read Daniel and we go, “Oh my gosh! We’re in the endtime!” Daniel read Jeremiah and he felt almost the same way. “Oh my gosh! Two more years and that 70 year period is up!” So Daniel starts praying. God had told them, “And you shall seek Me and find Me when you shall search for Me with all your heart.“ (Jeremiah 29:13)
So
Daniel begins to seek God with all his heart. And he’s going to pour
out his heart to God, in sackcloth and ashes as a sign of repentance and
desperation. He’s praying for his people, he’s praying for his country,
prophecy is just about to be fulfilled. This prayer is actually 16
verses long so maybe we can read the first three and last three verses.“Then I set my face toward the Lord God to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. And I prayed to the Lord my God and made confession and said, ‘O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him and with those who keep His commandments, we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your commandments and Your judgments.’“ (Daniel 9:3-5)
And the last 3 verses of the prayer were
“Now,
O our God, hear the prayer of Your servant and his requests, and for
the Lord’s sake, cause Your face to shine on Your sanctuary which is
desolate. O my God, incline Your ear and hear; open Your eyes and see
our ruins and the city which is called by Your name. For we do not
present our prayers before You because of our righteousness but because
of Your great mercies.O Lord, hear. O Lord, forgive. O Lord, hear and
act. Do not delay for Your own sake, my God, for Your city and Your
people are called by Your name.“ (Daniel 9:17-19)Daniel was seeking God with all his heart. He was confessing his sins and the sins of his people. He was desperate for God to forgive, to heal, to answer the prayers of His people and to fulfill His prophetic Word. So we can go to verses 20 & 21.
“And
while I was speaking and praying and confessing my sin and the sin of
my people Israel and presenting my cry before the Lord my God for the
holy mountain of my God, yea, while I was speaking in prayer, the man
Gabriel whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to
fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening sacrifice. And he
informed me and talked with me and said, ‘O Daniel, I have now come to
give you skill and understanding. At the beginning of your prayers the
commandment went forth and I have come to tell you, for you are greatly
beloved.’“There are not too many times in the Bible where an angel says that to someone, “You are greatly beloved”. In fact, this was said twice more to Daniel in Daniel chapter 10. Daniel must have been a really special person. He was greatly loved because he greatly loved the Lord.
“Therefore consider the matter and understand the vision:“
There aren’t going to be any visions of beasts here, like in the earlier chapters.
This has been our preparation for those 3 prophetic verses we’re going to be looking at in this class. There aren’t going to be any visions of beasts here, like in the earlier chapters.
The angel Gabriel is going to give Daniel the straight Word of God.
What if you tried to get the most important things in the history of the
world for the next 2 or 3 thousand years into 3 or 4 verses? That’s
what we’re going to have right here.
Sometimes
when I teach this, I use the analogy of Algebra, where you have things
like “X” plus “Y” equals 5. So “X” and “Y” are unknowns. At the
beginning of this, there are going to be some “unknowns”. The challenge
for you is going to be to try to not figure it out right away. Because
we’re going to have to wait for it and we’re going to have to put it
together. So if you don’t understand this right away, just wrap it up in
a bundle of faith and put it on the shelf for the moment. Because we’re
going to work on it and we’re going to find it out. So Gabriel was
telling Daniel,
“…therefore consider the matter and understand the vision:” Verse 24 “Seventy
weeks are determined upon your people and your holy city, to finish the
transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for
iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up the vision
and prophecy and to anoint the Most Holy.”Now if you don’t watch out, you’re going to go, “Seventy weeks? Let’s see; 52 weeks in a year…” So you do your math and you get “a year and a half…that doesn’t make sense!” And you’d be right. But here’s the first thing you need to know. The English word week in the Hebrew is “shabua”.
That’s
the Hebrew word for week. And in Hebrew that didn’t always mean 7 days.
We have the word in English “a dozen”. It could be a dozen eggs, a
dozen houses; it means 12. I’ll give you another example of this word
shabua in the Bible. The most important verse in this chapter for people
in our times is Daniel 9:27.
Our
next class is mainly based around that verse. But an interesting cross
reference is Genesis 29:27. Daniel 9:27 connecting with Genesis 29:27,
interesting coincidence. It’s talking about Jacob, nearly 1500 years
before Daniel. Jacob had to work 7 years for one wife, then 7 for the
other wife; then 7 more years for the other things. Genesis 29:27 says, “Fulfill her week, and we will give you this one also for the service which you shall serve with me still another seven years.” 
That’s another place in the Bible where the Hebrew word “shabau”, “a week”, is used as 7 years. So when it says “70 weeks”,
it’s not talking about a year and a half. It’s talking about 70 sevens
of years. If you do your math, you go 70 times 7 equals 490. Gabriel is telling Daniel that “70 weeks”, 490 years, are determined “To make an end of sins”, “to bring in everlasting righteousness”. (Daniel 9:24)
But in this world we do not have an end of sins and we do not have everlasting righteousness.
Do
we have an end of sins right now in our world? No. Do we have
everlasting righteousness right now in our world? No. Maybe in our
hearts, we have the kingdom of God within us. But in this world we do not have an end of sins and we do not have everlasting righteousness. So already, from what we can tell so far, this 490 year period has not come to its conclusion, even up to our modern times.But, we were reading about Daniel praying desperately because that 70 years prophecy of Jeremiah was just about due to be fulfilled. It was just about time for the Jews to be allowed to begin to return to the land they’d been driven from so many years before. But then, the angel Gabriel here seems to start talking about something different. Nothing about that prophecy but about a 490 year period “to bring in everlasting righteousness.” (Daniel 9:24)
What
about that 70 years prophecy of Jeremiah, did it get fulfilled? Yes it
did. Two years after this prophecy of Daniel 9, King Cyrus of Persia
signed a proclamation allowing the return of the Jews to Jerusalem. And
they began to do that in fulfillment of the 70 years prophecy which had
been given to Jeremiah.
Gabriel’s message was at the heart of God’s overall plan for all nations, the salvation of all peoples
But
it seems God had something else on His mind. Gabriel’s message here to
Daniel was about something far, far greater and more important. Gabriel’s message was at the heart of God’s overall plan for all nations, the salvation of all peoples and the bringing in of God’s rule and reign on our very earth.One thing about these verses, they’re so packed with significance that it’s difficult to make this into a somewhat brief class, especially for those studying this for the first time. There’s much here that could be explored and looked into which I’ll need to pass over for now in order to focus on the most important elements of this message from Gabriel to Daniel.
So Gabriel first gave the big picture “Seventy weeks are determined… to make an end of sins to bring in everlasting righteousness”.
(Daniel 9:24) We’re told of “seventy weeks”, a period of 490 years.
But then in the next verses, he begins to break those seventy 7’s of
years into smaller periods. Verse 25 says“Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; the street shall be built again and the wall, even in troublous times.“
At this time none of the Jews had even gone back to their homeland yet; they were all still captives.
The angel Gabriel is talking to Daniel somewhere in Persia, around 539 BC. At this time none of the Jews had even gone back to their homeland yet; they were all still captives. But as I was saying earlier, two years later, they were allowed to begin to return to Jerusalem. But that’s not what this “commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem” (Daniel 9:25) is talking about.
The
Jews who returned to Jerusalem back then went back to a city that was
ruins. They were allowed to go back but they couldn’t really rebuild.
Because in those days, to fortify a city, you had to get permission to
do that. Because if you have built up a city, you can begin to defend
yourself, you could be independent from the Persians.
So
it was actually nearly 100 years after this time, when Nehemiah poured
out his heart to king Artaxerxes of Persia about the sad condition of
the Jews who’d returned to Jerusalem, that this commandment to restore
and build Jerusalem took place, around 444 BC. That’s what Nehemiah 2:5
records when Nehemiah said,“And I said to the king, “If it please the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, I pray that you would send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs, so that I may build it.”
The
next verses in Nehemiah are about where Artaxerxes gave a decree to
Nehemiah to go back and build. And that’s when the commandment went
forth to restore and to build Jerusalem.So let’s look at verse 25 again in that light. “Know therefore and understand that, from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince,…“
I didn’t believe in God until I was nearly 21 years old. And the first time I read this and saw that it’s speaking specifically about “Messiah the Prince” in the Old Testament, I’ll tell you, I was really stunned. And I found that there are so many places, in the Old Testament, that specifically foretell a Messiah who would come. This is one of the most amazing ones right here.
“From the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, shall be seven weeks…” (a week is seven years) 7 times 7 is 49 so 49 years “and 62 weeks”. Seven weeks plus 62 weeks equals 69 weeks which would amount to 483 years between “the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem” and “Messiah the Prince.”It’s almost hard to believe that the angel Gabriel, over 500 years before the birth of Jesus, gave an exceedingly specific prophecy to the prophet Daniel about a 483 year length of time before the arrival of “Messiah, the Prince.” But, you probably wonder, “Was it really exactly that length of time, 483 years?”
Let’s look at that. First, it’s beyond the scope of this video to present to you the many historical details of all this. There have been some amazing studies to find the exact year of “the going forth of the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem”.
A book that has helped me in the study of all this was published in 1894, “The Coming Prince” by Sir Robert Anderson.
Through much study, Robert Anderson found that the king that Nehemiah
served, Artaxerxes, gave the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem
in 444 BC.
And
since Jesus’ years of ministry looks to be between 30 and 33 AD, this
would at first glance not fit, since the amount of time from 444 BC to
33 AD equals 476 years, not 483.But here’s a factor that changes that. Throughout the Bible and in ancient societies, a year was calculated as 360 days, not 365¼ as we know now. Here’s something Sir Isaac Newton, who was an ardent student of the prophecies of Daniel, wrote about this fact
“All nations, before the just length of the solar year was known, reckoned months by the course of the moon, and years by the return of winter and summer, spring and autumn. In making calendars for their festivals, they reckoned thirty days to a lunar month, and twelve lunar months to a year. From this comes the division of the path of the sun’s annual rotation into 360 degrees.”Here’s a chart to show this.
The angel Gabriel said there would be “7 weeks” and “62 weeks”, 69 weeks or 483 years between “the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem” and “Messiah the Prince”. Historically between 444 BC and 33 AD there are 476 years. (Just to note: we go from 1 BC to 1 AD since there’s no year “0″.)
So
it seems to not quite fit. But let’s do the math. The 483 Jewish years
of this prophecy, each having the 360 day year of ancient times, would
amount to 173,880 days.
History
says that 476 of our modern years past between these two periods. 476
years multiplied by 365¼ equals 173,859 days. So 483 years in the
ancient world would equal the 476 years that modern history computes
between these two key points in this prophecy.
This
same thing can be seen in the book of Revelation. Talking about a
future period in the endtime of 3½ years, the length of time is called “42 months” in chapters 11 and 13. But in several other places in Revelation, the same period is called “a thousand, two hundred and sixty days”.A period of 42 months, mentioned twice between Revelation 11 and 13 and a similar period of 1260 days, also mentioned twice in those chapters. 42 months divided by 12 months equals 3½ years. And 1260 days, divided by a 360 day year equals 3½ years. These references in Revelation are talking about the same length of time reckoned with years being 360 days.
Let’s look at this all again from a larger view.
First we are told of “70 weeks”, 490 years, “to bring in everlasting righteousness.”
Then within the 70 weeks, a period of 69 weeks, 483 years, from the
commandment to rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince. The 69 weeks
are then broken down into periods of 49 years and 434 years. And it
says, “the street shall be built again and the wall, even in troublous times.” And the beginning of verse 26 says, “And after sixty two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself…”
from the completion of the building of Jerusalem, there would be “62 weeks”, 434 years before the Messiah.
History
shows that it took the Jews 49 years to complete the rebuilding of
Jerusalem. In fact, around the time of that completion, about 400 BC,
was when the last Jewish prophet, Malachi, received God’s Word for the
people. After that, for the next 400 years, there were no more prophets.
For believers back then, this part of the prophecy may have been a
real beacon and light to their future. It could almost have been like a
road sign, during a long desert crossing, that from the completion of the building of Jerusalem, there would be “62 weeks”, 434 years before the Messiah.
in New Testament times, there are repeated references to people who were expecting to see the Messiah in their lifetimes.
You
can read the historical and prophetic books in the Bible from the time
after the Jews had come back to Jerusalem and you never hear them saying
that they were expecting the Messiah at any moment. But then, in New Testament times, there are repeated references to people who were expecting to see the Messiah in their lifetimes.
Perhaps these verses from Daniel chapter 9 were talked about during
that time. The Living Bible, says this in Luke chapter 3 verse 15 “Everyone was expecting the Messiah to come soon, and eager to know whether or not John [the Baptist] was He. This was the question of the hour and was being discussed everywhere.”
Many
of us have heard about “the 3 kings of the east”, also called “the 3
wise men” who saw His star in the east at the time of Jesus’ birth and
came to worship Him. These wise men, “the magi” or magicians of the east
may have known of this prophecy in Daniel 9. We read in Daniel 2 that
after Daniel had told Nebuchadnezzar his dream, “Then
the king promoted Daniel, and gave him many great gifts, and made him
ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief administrator over
all the wise men [the magicians] of Babylon.”
(Daniel 2:48) So it’s quite possible the 3 wise men from the east knew
the time had come for the birth of the Messiah from this prophecy of the
ancient chief of the wise men of Babylon, Daniel himself. They didn’t
ask when the king of the Jews was to be born, just where.
But it even says, “And after sixty two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself…” (Daniel 9:26) We can look back at this and truly be at a loss for words. The prophecy says “Messiah shall be cut off, but not for himself“. The Messiah would be killed, but not for Himself. And for those of you who know the message of Christianity, you know that “God
so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten son, that whoever
believes in Him, shall not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
But then, what can we do with this prophecy?
Jesus
of Nazareth willingly went to his crucifixion. He was cut off, not for
Himself or his sins (He didn’t have any) but to give His life as an
offering and a ransom for many. You may not believe that. Certainly I
didn’t at all. But then, what can we do with this prophecy?
We can doubt it, we can dismiss it, we can wish it wasn’t there. But it
is. Not in the Christian writings of the New Testament but in the
Hebrew writings of the Old Testament.But there’s still another equally amazing part to verse 26. Let’s read the full verse and focus on the last part, “And after 62 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. The end of it shall be with a flood. And unto the end of the war desolations shall be determined.”
Most of you watching this are not Jewish and this may not stand out to you. But for a Jewish person, especially one from those times back then, this would shock them very much. What they would notice is that Gabriel says here, that, after the Messiah shall be cut off, “the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary…” (Daniel 9:26)
Gabriel is telling them that, at a future date, Jerusalem would be destroyed again. And the future Temple.
At
the time Gabriel gave this message in, 539 BC, Daniel and his people
were in prayer and expectation that they’d be allowed to return to
Jerusalem and hopefully to rebuild the city and even the Temple. But Gabriel is telling them that, at a future date, Jerusalem would be destroyed again. And the future Temple. “The people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary…” (Daniel 9:26)
Did
this actually occur in history? Yes it did. Jesus of Nazareth was
crucified in Jerusalem in 33 AD. In 70 AD, the Roman legions of Titus
surrounded Jerusalem and destroyed the city and the sanctuary. Israel
was effectively ended; over 1 million were killed and the Jews were
scattered among all nations for nearly 1900 years. But when does the
angel Gabriel say that this will happen? “After Messiah shall be cut off.“ (Daniel 9:26)
God has a destiny foreordained for mankind and it’s going to be fulfilled.
So, God has a foreknowledge of events in our world. God has a destiny foreordained for mankind and it’s going to be fulfilled. We individually have free choice and we’re responsible for our choices. But God has an overall design for mankind.I’m going to go over this once more.
From 444 BC till 33 AD, from “the Commandment to build Jerusalem” until “Messiah shall be cut off” shall be “7 weeks” (49 prophetic years) and “62 weeks” (434 prophetic years) which make a total of 483 prophetic years. And it says, after the Messiah is cut off “the people of the prince that shall come [the Romans] shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.“We can look back and say, “Oh, yeah”. But who can do what we’ve just seen here? Nobody can do that, nobody. No religion, no philosopher, no scientist. Only the God of Abraham can so clearly and explicitly tell us the future. And He did it. It’s so powerful. It’s just unique. But you know what?
That’s only 69 weeks. The angel said, “70 weeks”
“Seventy weeks are determined …to bring in everlasting righteousness.” 69
weeks were fulfilled at the crucifixion of Jesus. So, there’s one
“week” left. One last 7 year period is yet to be fulfilled in this
prophecy in order to bring in God’s Kingdom on earth.That’s what’s called “the 70th week” or “the Last 7 years” and that hasn’t happened yet. You could think, “Well, maybe 7 years after the death and resurrection of the Messiah, that would be the other 7 years and that would be the fulfillment, wouldn’t it?” But then, is that when there was an end of sins? A bringing in of everlasting righteousness.
One of the most famous things Jesus of Nazareth ever taught was when His disciples asked Him how they should pray. His answer to His disciples has come to be called, “the Lord’s prayer”. One of the first things taught in that prayer is that we should pray to God, “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10)
That last “week”, the last seven years of this prophecy is yet to come, yet to be fulfilled.
We
only have to look at history and our own times to know that isn’t how
it has been or is now. We don’t have God’s Kingdom on earth right now. That last “week”, the last seven years of this prophecy is yet to come, yet to be fulfilled. That’s what the final verse in this chapter is about, verse 27
Our next class is going to be centered around Daniel 9:27
When
He was asked by His disciples about His return to the earth, Jesus
referred to things mentioned in Daniel 9:27 and other verses we’ve not
yet read in Daniel. Our next class is going to be centered around Daniel 9:27
and those other verses. We’ll find that this verse is the crux, the
keystone, fitting together so much of what we’ve read already in Daniel
and what can be found in the book of Revelation. I’ve already started on
the next video on this subject and I’m eagerly looking forward to
sharing that with you soon, God bless you.
It focuses on the parts
of the “70 Weeks” prophecy, revealed by the angel Gabriel, which have
already been fulfilled, concentrating mainly on verses 24 to 26. An
incredibly specific 483 year length of time was revealed to Daniel that
would pass between “the commandment to restore Jerusalem” and “Messiah the Prince” (Daniel 9:25). Adding to that, the angel Gabriel told Daniel that “after… Messiah shall be cut off”,
the city of Jerusalem and the Jewish Temple would again be destroyed
(Daniel 9:26). This all came to pass precisely as this prophecy said it
would, in the centuries to come.
It’s always seemed to me that the two most significant, important
prophetic chapters in the Old Testament are Isaiah 53 and Daniel chapter
9. Chapters 2, 7 and 8 in Daniel lay the groundwork for and lead up to
the truth revealed in Daniel 9. The rest of the book of Daniel builds
upon the foundation made plain in chapter 9.
It would almost be difficult to overstate the importance of this chapter. Jesus of Nazareth, when asked by His disciples when He would return said, “When you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the Holy place, whoever reads it, let him understand.” (Matthew 24:15) It’s in Daniel 9 and later chapters in Daniel that this reference to the mysterious “abomination of desolation” is found.
But this is not an easy chapter to understand. I’ve tried, therefore, to make this as simple as I could in order to reach people who’ve never before read or understood this chapter.
As I mention in the video, this chapter is another one in Daniel which is personal to me. Reading and understanding the remarkable truths in this chapter had a profound impact on my life, my view of reality and the world we live in. I hope this video will be a blessing to you and that you’ll be able to see and grasp the astounding truth that’s revealed in Daniel chapter 9.
How
many people understand that cartoon there? One in a hundred? One in a
thousand? I’ll bet that less than one person in a thousand understands
what that cartoon is talking about. So I’m going to do what most people
don’t like. I’m going to explain a joke
But
the vast majority of the secular world tend to mock and deride things
like this. And often the ones who are dressed in robes, walking down the
street with a sign about the End being near, all too often turn out to
be easy targets of mockery.And if you really have no background in this, you may have no idea what it could mean by “the end of the world”. Nowadays of course, you don’t have to be religious or spiritually minded to think we may be near a worldwide precipice of societal, economic or ecological collapse. And for those of you who aren’t “religious”, you may not know that the Bible has a string of predictions in it that at some point in the future, some very major changes will take place in our world, which could almost be considered “the end”. (Actually the Bible doesn’t predict a total annihilation of the planet like some think it does. It just says there is going to be a huge, monumental change that will usher in the return of Jesus of Nazareth to rule the earth, as the King He is.)
if you’re Jewish, you may already know the answer to this.
So what in the world is this cartoon talking about when the guy says, “Relax, it all happened in 70 AD”? First hint: if you’re Jewish, you may already know the answer to this.
Here’s the deal. One school of thought in the study of Bible prophecy
says that all those future predictions of “the end” were fulfilled in 70
AD. But what happened in 70 AD?
Roman legions surround Jerusalem, 70 AD
And that’s where the idea comes from for this cartoon. It’s like the guy is saying there, “Relax, there’s not going to be any “the End”. That already happened in 70 AD.” And there are certainly Bible teachers who teach that and say that.
The destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD
was clearly foretold by the angel Gabriel to Daniel the prophet 600
years before it happened
Well, this is all “right down my alley”, as they say in English. At the moment I’m finishing up a video on Daniel chapter 9 which talks about this very thing. The
destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD was clearly foretold by the angel
Gabriel to Daniel the prophet 600 years before it happened. He said it would happen after the death of the Messiah who was yet to come. Gabriel told Daniel that, “After …Messiah is cut off… the people of the prince who shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.” (Daniel 9:26) This is all brought out in the video on Daniel chapter 9 which I hope will be on line in less than two weeks.Was “the end” in 70 AD? It was certainly an end for the nation of Israel at that time. But was this what Bible prophecy has pointed to and what the prophecies in the Bible have been predicting? I don’t think so. “The end is not yet” (Matthew 24:6), as Jesus said.
My goal is not to go around scaring people with gloom and doom proclamations.
My goal is not to go around scaring people with gloom and doom proclamations.
My goal is to try to inform, to clarify and bring into view the
original writings of the prophets of the Bible as to what God has said
will be the future events which He has ordained to bring the world back
to His rule and direction. It will be a cataclysmic time leading up to
that. It will seem for many like “the end”. It will be “the end” of a
lot of things which need to end. But it will bring in a new and better
world, a world liberated from the hate and foolishness that dominate it
now. Like Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar, “In
the days of these kings shall the God of Heaven set up a kingdom that
shall never be destroyed. And the kingdom shall not be left to other
peoples. But it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms.
And it shall stand forever.” (Daniel 2:44 & 45).
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