Re: The 70th Great weeks of Daniel Delusion

Posted by VersebyVerse on August 11, 2005 at 12:04:43:

In Reply to: The 70th Great weeks of Daniel Delusion posted by Bible Probe on July 26, 2005 at 20:56:56:

DAN 9:24-27

I) [Dan 9:24]:

"Seventy 'sevens' [490 years] are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy."

A) SEVENTY SEVENS = HEBREW, "HEPTADS" = SEVENTY SEVENS OF YEARS = 490 YEARS

70 x 7 = 490 years. Daniel would be thinking in terms of years because a number of other Scripture passages indicate that 70 years was a period of time in which God dealt with the nation Israel, (Cp Jer 25:11-12; 2 Chron 36:21). The people of Israel thought in terms of sevens, ("heptads"):

One week = seven days

Every 7th yr = sabbath rest year, (Lev25:1-7)

The Year of Jubilee = The next year after seven 'sevens' or 7x7 = 49 years (Lev 25:8-12)

Therefore "Seventy 'sevens' " must mean seventy sevens of years or 70 x 7 = 490 years. "Seventy sevens" could not mean days or weeks, that would be too short of a time for all of the events in the prophecy to happen as listed in verse 24. And history proves this out since 490 days, weeks and months have already transpired without the fulfillment of all of these prophesies within the respective timespans under consideration. Furthermore, if days were meant rather than years then the words in Hebrew which are translated in English as "of days" would have also been added as it says in Dan 10:2-3.

It also must mean sevens of years because Israel had not been letting the land lie fallow every seventh year as commanded by God, (Lev 25:1-7). This made a total of 70 sabbatical years which were not honored by this time in Israel's history. It would now require 490 years of time for God to enforce this command, (Lev 26:34-35), and provide for the land being left fallow every 7th year, (70 sabbatical years missed x 7 = 490 years).

In the final analysis, the most significant of proofs that "seventy 'sevens'" refers to years is to review history and examine what happened within each feasible time period (days, weeks, months) to see if the prophecies were precisely fulfilled. Since nothing will match up as being precisely fulfulled in any of these other timespans, then the only remaining feasible timespan is weeks = weeks of years.

[Renald E. Showers states; "Maranatha Our Lord, Come!", Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry, Bellmawr, N.J., 1995, pp. 239-244]:

"Near the end of Israel's Babylonian captivity, in response to the Prophet Daniel's concern about Israel's future, God sent a significant prophecy to him through the angel Gabriel. This prophecy is recorded in Daniel 9:24-27. For the purpose of this present study, we must note several significant facts concerning this prophecy.

THE PROPHECY INVOLVED 490 YEARS

This prophecy involved 'Seventy weeks' (lit., 'seventy sevens') of time (v. 24). Seventy sevens is the same as 70 times seven or 490. Thus, the prophecy involved 490 units of time. How much time would be involved in these 490 units? Would these units consist of 490 days, weeks, months, or years? We shall note later that these units of time were determined by God specifically for Israel. Seventy sevens of years would have been very meaningful to the people of Israel. God had divided their calendar into seven-year periods with every seventh year being a sabbatic year (Lev. 25:3-9). In addition, Israel's Babylonian captivity lasted 70 years because the people of Israel had violated 70 sabbatic years over the course of 490 years (Lev. 26:34-35; 2 Chr. 36:21). These facts, together with the fact that Daniel himself had been thinking in terms of years in the context of this 70-weeks prophecy (9:1-2), indicate that the units of time involved consist of 490 years.

GOD DID NOT DETERMINE THE 70 WEEKS/490 YEAR PROPHECY FOR THE CHURCH, BUT FOR ISRAEL & JERUSALEM

God determined all 70 weeks or 490 years for Daniel's people and holy city (v. 25); therefore, all 70 weeks were determined specifically for Israel and Jerusalem. God did not determine the 70 weeks for the church. This is significant because... ...the church is distinct from Israel." []

I cont.) [Dan 9:24 cont.]:

"Seventy 'sevens' are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy."

B) GOD DECREED A 490 YEAR PERIOD FOR ISRAEL & JERUSALEM IN WHICH THERE WILL BE A FINISH OF TRANSGRESSION, AN END TO SIN, ATONEMENT FOR WICKEDNESS, BRINGING IN OF EVERLASTING RIGHTEOUSNESS, FULFILLMENT OF ALL VISIONS & PROPHECIES & ANOINTING OF JESUS CHRIST AS KING OF KINGS

1) A FINISH TO TRANSGRESSION

A "finish" to "transgression" = a finish to, i.e., a solution to the problem of Israel's willful disobedience to the statutes of the Law will be brought to an end when our Lord will pay for the sins of the whole world and Israel will accept her Messiah and finally resolve the problem of her transgression.

2) AN END OF SIN

"an end of sin" = the Hebrew word "hatam" = "an end of" = a completion of in the sense of ending. The context of this passage in Daniel combined with the examination of other passages which are about the same doctrine, (Ref. Dt 32:34; Job 14:17), indicate that the phrase "an end of sin" means a sealing up of; i.e., a final ending of the problem of unpunished sin with the satisfactory amount of punishment, sin being anything outside of the Righteousness of God.

3) ATONEMENT FOR WICKEDNESS

Atonement "for wickedness" = payment for sins. This specifically refers to our Lord's once for all time atonement for the sins of the whole world, (Ro 3:21; I Jn 2:2; Hebrews chapter 9).

4) A BRINGING IN OF EVERLASTING RIGHTEOUSNESS

a bringing in of "everlasting righteousness" =

"to bring in" - in the verb form in this passage "to bring in" = to cause to come in. This refers to the causing to come in by God of a period of rule of everlasting righteousness. This can only refer to that period of time in history beginning with the millennium. There is no other period in history which brings in a period of rule of everlasting rightouesness. This rule will continue into eternity future, hence it is described as everlasting.

5) A SEALING UP, I.E., FULFILLMENT OF VISIONS AND PROPHECIES

"a sealing up" = a fulfilling, finally, of "vision and prophecy" in Scripture. All visions and prophecies in Scripture will be sealed, i.e. fulfilled and completed and thereby sealed up as completed, no longer applicable for fulfillment.

6) AN ANOINTING OF THE MOST HOLY ONE

An anointing of = the enthronement of "the Most Holy", the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ as King of kings and Lord of Lords. This will occur beginning at the period of the millennium.

II) [Dan 9:25-26]:

(v. 25) " 'Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the Ruler, comes, there will be seven 'sevens,' and sixty-two 'sevens'. It [Jerusalem] will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble.

(v. 26) After the sixty-two 'sevens,' the Anointed One [Jesus Christ] will be cut off [i.e., excecuted as a criminal] but not for Himself. [Then] The people of the ruler [the Antichrist] who will come will destroy the city [of Jerusalem] and the sanctuary [of the temple]. The end [of human history as we know it] will come like a flood. War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed."

A) ARTAXERXES LONGIMANUS, KING OF BABYLON, ISSUED A DECREE IN 445 B.C. TO REBUILD JERUSALAM

"From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem" =

Artxerxes Longimanus, king of Babylon, issued a decree [Heb = "dabar" = command, decree, (cf. Est 1:19)] to permit Nehemiah to rebuild the walls around Jerusalem. King Artaxerses did this on the Jewish calendar month and day of Nisan 1, 445 B.C.,(Mar 14); (cp Nehemiah 2:1-8).

1) [Compare Neh 2:1-8]:

(v. 1) "In the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was brought for him, I [Nehemiah] took the wine and gave it to the king. I had not been sad in his presence before;

(v. 2) so the king asked me, 'Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart.' I was very much afraid,

(v. 3) but I said to the king, 'May the king live forever! Why should my face not look sad when the city where my fathers are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?'

(v. 4) The king said to me, 'What is it you want?' Then I prayed to the God of heaven,

(v. 5) and I answered the king, 'If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my fathers are buried so that I can rebuild it.'

(v. 6) Then the king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked me, 'How long will your journey take, and when will you get back?' It pleased the king to send me; so I set a time.

(v. 7) I also said to him, 'If it pleases the king, may I have letters to the governors of Trans-Euphrates, so that they will provide me safe-conduct until I arrive in Judah?

(v. 8) And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the king's forest, so he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel by the temple and for the city wall and for the residence I will occupy?' And because the gracious hand of my God was upon me, the king granted my requests."

So this 490 year period which leads into the millennial rule of the Kingdom of God will begin at the time when king Artxerxes issues a decree to rebuild Jerusalem.

The rest of this passage speaks of letters of safe passage, military escort protection and authorizations to secure materials and safe conduct in order to reconstruct Jerusalem.

The edict given by Artxerses needs to be pinpointed in history in order to test the accuracy of Daniel's prophecy. Artxerses Longimanus, historians have established, began his first year of rule in 464 B.C.. His 20th year of reign then being 445 B.C. Objectors point away from Artxerses Longimanus to other rulers of Medo-Persia in order to avoid the astonishingly miraculous accuracy of Daniel's prophecy. Many objectors point to another Medo-Persian ruler, Cyrus, who issued an edict to rebuild the temple at Jerusalem. But notice that the edict was only to rebuild the temple, not the whole city:

[Ezra 1:2]:

"This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: 'The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and He has appointed me to build a temple for Him at Jerusalem in Judah."

Still other objectors to setting the commencement date of this prophecy in Dan 9 as 445 B.C. point to another date, 457 B.C. when Artaxerxes, king of Persia issued a decree to Ezra authorizing him to reinstitute the Temple services, appoint judges and magistrates, and teach the Law. But notice that a rebuilding of Jerusalem was not specifically stipulated. [Compare Ezra 7:11-26].

Furthermore, when carefully considered, the 445 B.C. propecy date works out perfectly to that first Palm Sunday when our Lord first presented Himself as Messiah/King to Israel riding on a foal of a donkey; after which, as the prophecy goes, He was indeed rejected thereupon after that "cut-off", i.e., crucified. The date of that Sunday was Nissan 10 [Apr 6] A.D. 32.

[Sir Robert Anderson states, 'The Coming Prince, pp. 121-122]:

"The date of Artaxerses' reign can be definitely ascertained...by the united voice of secular historians and chronologers. .....The Persian edict which restored the autonomy of Judah was issued in the Jewish month of Nisan. It may in fact have been dated the 1st of Nisan, but no other day being named, the prophetic period must be reckoned according to a practice common with the Jews, from the Jewish New Year's Day.

'On the 1st of Nisan is a new year for the computation of the reign of kings and for festivals' - Mishna, treatise. Rosh Hash.

So when an event is dated as it was in Nehemiah 2:1, without a particular day of the month stated, then the first of the month was intended. The final proof of this is established when the precise number of days prophesied in Daniel points back to Nisan 1."

B) "THE ANOINTED ONE" = THE RULER, THE LORD JESUS CHRIST

"The Anointed One" = "Christos" (Greek) = The Messiah = The Lord Jesus Christ.

"Until the Anointed One [i.e., the Messiah] comes" = until our Lord appears in His First Coming to present Himself as Messiah, i.e., Ruler of the world. (He will be rejected as Messiah and crucified as Scripture prophesies).

C) THE DECREE TO REBUILD JERUSALEM IS TO BEGIN A TIMESPAN OF 483 YEARS UNTIL THE CRUCIFIXION OF OUR LORD

" 'Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the Ruler, comes, there will be seven 'sevens,' and sixty-two 'sevens'. =

1) THE TIMESPAN FROM ARTAXERSES' DECREE TO THE FIRST 'PALM SUNDAY' PROPHESIED BY DANIEL IS 483 YEARS OR 173,880 DAYS

"there will be seven 'sevens'" = 7 x 7 = 49 years
"and sixty-two 'sevens' = 62 x 7 = 434 years
= 483 Jewish calendar yrs x 360 days/yr = 173,880 da = 173,880 da

Note: calculations are based on the 360da/yr calendar as evidenced being used in Scripture via fulfilled prophecies using such a calendar year.

[Sir Robert Anderson also establishes the date of our Lord's crucifixion, op. cit., pp. 121-123]:

"The statement of St Luke is explicit and unequivocal, that our Lord's public ministry began in the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar. It is equally clear that it began shortly before the Passover. [cp Jn 2:13] The date of it can thus be fixed as between August A.D. 28 and April A.D. 29. The Passover of the crucifixion therefore was [3 yrs later according to the Gospels] in A.D. 32 when Christ was betrayed on the night of the Paschal [Passover] Supper, and put to death on the day of the Paschal Feast."

[G. B. Airy, Royal Observatory, Greenwich, England stipulated what date the new moon was in 444 Astronomical Year, i.e., 445 BC Julian Calendar Year]:

'''June 26th, 1877. "SIR, — I have had the moon’s place calculated from Largeteau’s Tables in Additions to the Connaisance des Tems 1846, by one of my assistants, and have no doubt of its correctness. The place being calculated for — 444 [Astronomical Year, i.e., 445 Julian Calendar year], March 12d. 20h., French reckoning, or March 12d. 8h. P. M., it appears that the said time was short of New Moon by about 8h. 47m., and therefore the New Moon occurred at 4h. 47m. A. M., March 13th, Paris time. "I am, etc., " (Signed,) G. B. AIRY.'''

[Anderson goes on to say]:

"...In B.C. 445 the new moon by which the Passover was regulated [was] on the 13th of March at 7h. 9m. A.M....courtesy of the Astronmer Royal... Royal Observatory, Greenwich. [England] June 26th, 1877.... And accordingly the 1st Nisan may be assigned to the 14th March."

[Anderson, op. cit., p. 127-8]:

"In accordance with the Jewish custom, the Lord went up to Jerusalem upon the 8th Nisan, "six days before the Passover" [Jn 11:55; 12:1]. But as the 14th, on which the Paschal Supper was eaten, fell that year [32 A.D.] upon a Thursday, the 8th was the preceding Friday. He must have spent the Sabbath, therefore, at [nearby] Bethany...' [Jn 11:55; 12:1]:

(v. 11:55) "When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, many went up from the country to Jerusalem for their ceremonial cleansing before the Passover.

(v. 12:1) Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead."

[Anderson, cont.]:

"...and on the evening of the 9th, after the Sabbath had ended the Supper took place in Martha's [Lazarus'] house. Upon the following day, the 10th Nisan, He entered Jerusalem as recorded in the Gospels. The Julian date of that 10th Nisan was Sunday the 6th April, A.D. 32....

The intervening period was 476 years and 24 days (the days being reckoned inclusively, as required by the language of the prophecy, and in accordance with the Jewish practice).

476 modern x 365 = 173,740 da calendar yrs

Add days from March 14 through April 6 = 24

Add for leap years [see below*] 116 " Total days 'til Christ crucified 173,880da Compare to Daniel's prophecy: 69 weeks of years x 7yrs/wk = 483 Jewish cal yrs 483 x 360da/Jewish yr = 173,880da [*A total of 476 years divided by four (a leap year every four years) gives 119 additional days. But three days must be subtracted from 119 because centennial years are not leap years, though every 400th year is a leap year.

Calculation of days Daniel's prophecy
476 modern years x 365 = 173,740 da calendar yrs 69 weeks of years x 7yrs/wk = 483 Jewish cal yrs
Add 24 days from and including Mar 14 thru Apr 6 = 24 ' '
Add for leap years [see below***] = 116 ' '
Total days 'til Christ crucified = 173,880 da 483 x 360da/Jewish yr = 173,880da
[***A total of 476 years divided by four, (a leap year every four years), gives 119 additional days. But three days must be subtracted from 119 because centennial years are not leap years, though every 400th year is a leap year]

[Anderson goes on to say, op. cit., p. 128]:

"...in reckoning years from B.C. to A.D., one year must always be omitted; for it is obvious, ex. gr., that from B.C. 1 to A.D. I was not two years, but one year. B.C. 1 ought to be described as B.C. 0, and it is so reckoned by astronomers, who would describe the historical date B.C. 445, as 444....secondly, the Julian year is 11m. 10'46s., or about the 129th part of a day, longer than the mean solar year. The Julian calendar, therefore, contains three leap years too many in four centuries, an error which had amounted to eleven days in A.D. 1752, when our English calendar was corrected by declaring the 3rd September to be the 14th September, and by introducing the Gregorian reform which reckons three secular years out of four as common years; ex. gr., 1700, 1800 and 1900 are common years, and 2000 is a leap year."

2) JERUSALEM WILL BE REBUILT "IN TIMES OF TROUBLE"

"times of trouble" = Jerusalem was rebuilt back in ancient times by Nehemiah in "times of trouble". Compare Nehemiah chapters 2-6.

III) SUNDAY DAY NISAN 10 AD 32

A) AT THE END OF 483 YEARS THE MESSIAH WILL PRESENT HIMSELF TO ISRAEL AND THEN HE WILL BE EXECUTED AS A CRIMINAL [CRUCIFIED] BUT NOT FOR HIMSELF, I.E., NOT FOR WHAT HE HIMSELF DID

"After the sixty-two 'sevens,' the Anointed One [Jesus Christ] will be cut off but not for Himself." =

"karat" = cut off, executed as a criminal.

"but not for Himself" = but not for what he did himself =

The Messiah, the anointed one, was executed as a criminal, but not executed for something He did Himself. The Messiah Jesus Christ, (Christ = "Anointed One"), died for our sins, (1 Jn 2:2), not for anything He did Himself. At the end of the stipulated period of 483 years which began when Nehemiah received the decree from Artaxerxes to rebuild Jerusalem on Nissan 1, 445 B.C; our Lord presented Himself as Messiah exactly 173,880 days later when He rode into Jerusalem on a young donkey - Sunday, April 6, 32 A.D., (Mt 21:1-11). Shortly thereafter, the text says: "After the sixty-two 'sevens,' the Anointed One will be cut off..." So after this presentation of Himself as Ruler on Palm Sunday April 6, 32 A.D., the Lord Jesus Christ, the "Anointed One" was crucified as a criminal as the prophecy in Daniel predicted.

2) [Mt 21:1-11]:

(v. 1) '''As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples,

(v. 2) saying to them, "Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me.

(v. 3) If anyone says anything to you, tell him that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away."

(v. 4) This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

(v. 5) "Say to the Daughter of Zion, `See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.' "

(v. 6) The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them.

(v. 7) They brought the donkey and the colt, placed their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them.

(v. 8) A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.

(v. 9) The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Hosanna in the highest!"

(v. 10) When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, "Who is this?"

(v. 11) 21:11 The crowds answered, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee."

III) [DAN 9:26-27]:

(v. 26) "After the sixty-two 'sevens,' the Anointed One [Jesus Christ] will be cut off [i.e., excecuted as a criminal] but not for Himself. [Then] The people of the ruler [the Antichrist] who will come will destroy the city [of Jerusalem] and the sanctuary [of the temple]. The end [of the Mosaic Law Age] will come like a flood. War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed."

(v. 27) He [the Antichrist] will confirm a covenant with many [Israel] for one 'seven'. In the middle of the 'seven' he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing of the temple, he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him."

A) DANIEL'S PROPHECY OF 490 YEARS JUMPS FROM OUR LORD'S CRUCIFIXION AT YEAR #483 SKIPPING ANY MENTION OF THIS PRESENT CHURCH AGE AND LEAPING 2,000 YEARS TO THE REMAINING 7 YEARS: A PERIOD OF THE ANTICHRIST AND GREAT TRIBULATION

"[Then] the people of the ruler [Antichrist, (v. 27)]" =

This next part of verse 26 (v. 26b), jumps hundreds of years in time from our Lord's crucifixion, (v. 26a), skipping over this present Church Age of 2,000 years as if it were an intercalation, i.e., an unrelated interruption, to the 7 year Tribulation period, the time of the Antichrist.

This remaining seven years when added to the previous total of 483 years = 490 years. This is the overall period of time indicated in Daniel 9:24, ("Seventy sevens" = 70 x 7 = 490 yrs). This 490 year period will pass including the intercalation of the 2,000 year Church Age and then there will be the end of human history as we know it. It will also be the end of the last seven years of the Mosaic Law Period climaxed by our Lord's Second Coming.

[Showers, cont.]:

"Gabriel said that the time from the beginning of the 70 weeks until the Messiah, the Prince, would be 69 weeks or 483 years (v. 25). Thus, 483 years after the beginning of the 70 weeks, the Messiah would be present in the world. The fact that this prophecy gave a very specific time when the Messiah would be present indicates that a significant event would happen with regard to the Messiah at the end of the first 69 weeks. What could that event be?

The fact that Gabriel referred to the Messiah as 'the Prince' implies that the event must be related significantly to the Messiah's being Israel's Prince or coming King. Zechariah 9:9 declared that Israel could identify its coming King by the fact that He would come to Jerusalem mounted on the foal of a donkey. In light of this, it would appear that the specific event that would happen at the end of the first 69 weeks or 483 years would be the Messiah's official presentation of Himself to Israel as its Prince or coming King by coming to Jerusalem mounted on the foal of a donkey.

Jesus Christ fulfilled this part of the 70-weeks prophecy when He officially presented Himself to Israel as its Messiah-Prince through His triumphal entry into Jerusalem on the foal of a donkey on Palm Sunday. Several things indicate that this was the specific event that ended the first 69 weeks or 483 years of the 70-weeks prophecy. First, some of the crowd on that Palm Sunday recognized the significance of Jesus' actions on that day, for they called Him 'King' (Lk 19:37-38).

Second, as Jesus approached Jerusalem on that day, He wept over the city and said, 'If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! But now they are hidden from thine eyes.' He warned Jerusalem that it would be destroyed by enemy forces 'because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation' (Lk 19:41-44). Jesus' language indicated that that particular day had been marked out by God as the time of Jerusalem's visitation by her Messiah-Prince - the day that could have brought lasting peace to that city if its people had accepted Jesus for Who He was. It also indicated that the people of Israel should have recognized that that particular day was the day when the Messiah would visit Jerusalem as Prince because several centuries earlier, in Daniel 9, God had revealed the exact time when the Messiah would present Himself as Prince to Israel.

Third, the 70-weeks prophecy foretold that the Messiah would be 'cut off' after the end of the first 69 weeks or 483 years (vv. 25-26). The word translated 'cut off' was used for the death penalty (Lev 7:20-21, 25, 27) and often referred to a violent death (1 Sam. 17:51; Obad. 9; Nah. 3:15). In this instance, it referred to the fact that the Messiah would be condemned to suffer the death penalty and thus would experience a violent death after the end of the first 69 weeks. It is a fact of history that Jesus was condemned to death and crucified several days (less than a week) after His triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday (Mk 11-15).

Fourth, the 70-weeks prophecy foretold that Jerusalem and the Temple would be destroyed after the end of the first 69 weeks (vv. 25-26). It is a fact of history that Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed by the Romans in 70 A. D., some 30 to 40 years after Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. As we noted earlier, on that Palm Sunday Jesus warned Jerusalem concerning that destruction by enemy forces as He approached the city.

Taken together, these four items indicate that the first 69 weeks of the 70-weeks prophecy ended on the day when Jesus made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem on the foal of a donkey and officially presented Himself to Israel as its Prince or coming King."

B) THE CHURCH DID NOT EXIST DURING ANY PART OF THE FIRST 69 WEEKS OR 483 YEARS OF THE 70 WEEKS

[Showers, cont.]:

"The church did not exist during any part of the first 69 weeks or 483 years of the 70 weeks. We have just observed that the first 69 weeks ended on the day of Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem... The church did not begin historically until the day of Pentecost (Acts 2), which took place nearly two months after the day of Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem []; therefore, the church did not begin historically until nearly two months after the end of the first 69 weeks of the 70-weeks prophecy.

We should note that God consistently kept the church out of all the first 69 weeks. Thus, it is evident that He intended the first 69 weeks of the 70-weeks prophecy to be His program specifically for Israel, but not for the church. This was consistent with the concept ... that Israel and the church are distinct entities. In addition, it was consistent with the second significant fact noted earlier concerning the 70-weeks prophecy - that God determined all 70 weeks specifically for Israel and Jerusalem, not for the church."

C) GOD TEMPORARILY INTERRUPTED HIS 70 WEEKS PROGRAM FOR ISRAEL AT THE END OF THE FIRST 69 WEEKS OR 483 YEARS WITH A GAP OF TIME THAT IS NOW APPROACHING 2,000 YEARS IN DURATION

[Showers, cont.]:

"God temporarily interrupted His 70-weeks program for Israel at the end of the first 69 weeks or 483 years with a gap of time that is now approaching 2,000 years in duration. Thus, the 70th week or last seven years of the 490 years involved in the prophecy did not follow immediately after the end of the first 69 weeks or 483 years. This indicates that the seven-year Tribulation period has not yet begun.

There are several evidences for this gap of time between the end of the first 69 weeks and the beginning of the 70th week. First, Daniel 9:27 teaches that abomination will come with desolation during the 70th week, but Jesus indicated that this abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel will come shortly before His Second Coming immediately after the Great Tribulation (Mt 24:15-21, 29-31), meaning that the 70th week or last seven years of the prophecy must also come shortly before Jesus' Second Coming.

Second, Daniel 9 indicates that the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple by the Romans fits within the scope of the 70 weeks or 490 years of the prophecy. Thus, this destruction was to occur before the end of the 70th week or last period of seven years. In light of this and the fact that the first 69 weeks ended with Jesus' triumphal entry, if the last seven of the 490 years had followed immediately after the end of the first 69 weeks, Jerusalem and the Temple would have been destroyed just seven years after Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem in the early 30s A. D. It is a fact of history, however, that Jerusalem and the Temple were not destroyed until 70 A. D., several decades after Jesus' triumphal entry. Only if there were a gap of time between the end of the first 69 weeks and the beginning of the 70th week could this destruction have taken place so late and still be within the scope of the 70-weeks or 490-years prophecy.

Third, it is not unusual for biblical prophecies to contain gaps of time. For example, Isaiah 9:6 says, 'For unto us a child is born' (referring to the Messiah's first coming), and 'the government shall be upon His shoulder' (related the Messiah's Second Coming). Zechariah 9:9-10 states, 'behold, thy King commeth unto thee... lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt, the foal of an ass' (referring to the Messiah's triumphal entry during His first coming), and 'His dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth' (related to the Messiah's Second Coming)."

D) GOD STARTED THE CHURCH VERY SHORTLY AFTER HE INTERRUPTED HIS 70 WEEKS PROGRAM FOR ISRAEL AND JERUSALEM WITH A GAP OF TIME AT THE END OF THE FIRST 69 WEEKS

[Showers, cont.]:

"God started the church very shortly after He interrupted His 70-weeks program for Israel and Jerusalem with a gap of time at the end of the first 69 weeks. God brought the church into existence just 57 days after the first 69 weeks ended with Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem."

E) GOD DOES NOT INTEND THE CHURCH TO BE PRESENT ON THE EARTH FOR ANY PART OF THE 70 WEEKS OR 490 YEARS HE HAS DETERMINED SPECIFICALLY FOR ISRAEL AND JERUSALEM

[Showers, cont.]:

"God does not intend the church to be present on the earth for any part of the 70 weeks or 490 years He has determined specifically for Israel and Jerusalem. He intends to keep His 70-weeks program for Israel and Jerusalem and His program for the church separate and distinct from each other, just as Israel and the church are distinct entities.

This does not mean that God stopped working altogether with Israel and Jerusalem when He interrupted the 70-weeks program and started the church. Instead, it means that God temporarily stopped one specific program (the 70-weeks program) with Israel and Jerusalem while He works His program with the church in the world. There is a major difference between saying that God stopped working with Israel altogether and saying that He Temporarily stopped one specific program with that nation. God worked with Israel and Jerusalem in ways other than the 70-weeks program for many centuries before He started that specific program after Daniel's time. In like manner, during the present interruption of the 70-weeks program, He works with the nation and city in ways other than that program."

F) GOD INTENDS THE CHURCH TO BE PRESENT ON THE EARTH SPECIFICALLY DURING THE INTERRUPTING GAP OF TIME BETWEEN THE END OF THE FIRST 69 WEEKS OR 483 YEARS AND THE BEGINNING OF THE 70TH WEEK OR LAST SEVEN YEARS

[Showers, cont.]:

"God intends the church to be present on the earth specifically during the interrupting gap of time between the end of the first 69 weeks or483 years and the beginning of the 70th week or last seven years. If God intended to mix any part of His 70-weeks program for Israel and Jerusalem with His program for the church, why didn't He start the church during the first 69 weeks of the 70-weeks program?"

G) GOD WILL REMOVE THE CHURCH FROM THE EARTH BEFORE THE 70TH WEEK BEGINS WITH THE RESUMPTION OF HIS 70-WEEKS PROGRAM FOR ISRAEL AND JERUSALEM

[Showers, cont.]:

"God will remove the church from the earth before the 70th week begins with the resumption of His 70-weeks program for Israel and Jerusalem." []

H) CONCLUSION: THE CHURCH IS RAPTURED BEFORE THE 7 YEAR TRIBULATION PERIOD AS GOD RESUMES THE 70-WEEKS PROGRAM WITH ISRAEL IN THE 70TH WEEK

"A strong inference in favor of the Pretribulation Rapture of the church has been derived from this... study of the 70-weeks prophecy recorded in Daniel 9:24-27. The pretribulation view is the only view of the Rapture that has the church being removed from the earth before the 70th week begins (before God resumes His 70-weeks program with Israel and Jerusalem). Thus, it is the only view of the Rapture that keeps God's specific 70-weeks program for Israel and Jerusalem separate and distinct from His program for the church.

All other views of the Rapture have the church going through at least part of the 70th week, meaning that all other views mix God's 7-weeks program for Israel and Jerusalem together with His program for the church."

I) IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SEVEN YEAR TRIBULATION (DANIEL'S 70TH WEEK), THE ANTICHRIST WILL BREAK HIS COVENANT WITH ISRAEL, DESECRATE THE TEMPLE WITH HIS IMAGE, DECLARE HIMSELF WORLD RULER & PERSECUTE ALL WHO WILL NOT WORSHIP HIM

"In the middle of the 'seven', he [the Antichrist] will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing [of the temple] he will set up an abomination that causes desolation" =

1) [Compare 2 Thes 2:3-4]:

(v. 3) Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come [the coming of Christ and our being gathered to Him in the Rapture] until the "apostasia" [=standing away, i.e., the Rapture] occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction.

(v. 4) He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshipped, so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God"

2) [Compare 13:1-8]:

(v. 1) "And the dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. He had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on his horns, and on each head a blasphemous name.

(v. 2) The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority.

(v. 3) One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was astonished and followed the beast.

(v. 4) Men worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, 'Who is like the beast? Who can make war against him?'

(v. 5) The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise his authority for forty-two months.

(v. 6) He opened his mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven.

(v. 7) He was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them. And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation.

(v. 8) All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast--all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world."

So the Antichrist will be the main impetus behind the persecution of believers - both Jewish believers and Gentile believers. Notice that he puts himself up as god in the temple in Jerusalem to be worshipped and will not stand for anyone worshipping the one true God of the universe. He will rule over all men for a season and persecute all who will not worship him, Jews and born again believers alike.

J) THE END OF THE AGE OF THE GENTILES WHICH IS YET FUTURE WILL COME LIKE A FLOOD CLIMAXING WITH MAXIMUM WAR AND OUR LORD'S SECOND COMING

Note that the words "The end will come like a flood": in Daniel 9:26 and note the words "until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled." in Luke 21:24. These two phrases indicate that the end of the Gentile control of the world and the beginning of the kingdom - with Israel as the ruling nation and our Lord as Ruler - has not come yet. And it obviously did not come in 70 A.D. as some maintain. So what our Lord prophesied as happening to Jerusalem and the temple is yet future. At that future time, Jerusalem and the sanctuary will again be destroyed.

This time by the Antichrist.

Note also that Daniel prophesies that "The end" (when the Anointed One Jesus Christ returns) will come in 490 Jewish calendar years, (Dan 9:24). According to history only 483 years have passed from the month of Nisan, (March-April) 445 B.C. when Nehemiah was given a decree by Persian ruler Artaxerxes to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem to the 10th of Nisan, (April 6), A.D. 32, ("Palm Sunday"). April 6th, A.D. 32 was the time of Passover when the Anointed One, Jesus Christ officially offered Himself as and was rejected as the Messiah by Israel, (Mt 21:1-11). At that time He was "cut off", i.e. crucified, (the punishment a criminal would receive). This temporarily suspended the ticking away of this 490 year prophecy - interrupted by 2000 years of church age.

There are therefore seven years to go in this 490 year period before our Lord's Return. This is a 490 year period which is a period especially marked by the Mosaic Law rule of life including temple worship - all exclusively focused on the nation Israel - the church not at all being involved in this future 7 year period. This last seven years has been separated from the first 483 years by approximately 2000 years of Church age history. The 490 year clock will again start ticking as soon as the church age is completed at the Rapture.

[Dave Hunt commented on the prophecies of Daniel in the December 1992 edition of the periodical entitled "The Berean Call", (Bend, Oregon, pp. 1-2)]:

'''Through the writings of Jeremiah, Daniel learned that the Babylonian captivity would last 70 years (Dan 9:2). God had commanded that each seven years the Hebrew slaves should be set free, debtors forgiven and the land given a one-year sabbath of rest (Ex 21:2; Dt 15:1,2,12; Lv 25:2-4). For 490 years Israel had disobeyed this precept. As judgment, Jews became slaves of Babylon while their land rested the 70 years of sabbaths it had been denied. [490 = 7 x 70]

While confessing this sin, pondering and praying, Daniel was given the revelation that another period of 490 years (70 weeks of years) lay ahead for his people and for Jerusalem (9:24). At the end of that time all of Israel's sins would be purged, all prophecy fulfilled and ended, and the Messiah would be reigning on David's throne in Jerusalem. These 70 weeks of years (490) were to be counted "from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem" (v. 25). That crucial date is given to us in Scripture.

Nehemiah tells us that it was "in the month Nisan [March], in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king" ...[Nehemiah 2:1-8]... ...that he received the authorization to rebuild Jerusalem. When the day of the month was not given the first day was intended.

There were several Artaxerxes, but only one, Longimanus, who ruled more than 20 years - from 465-425 B.C. Thus we have the key date from which this incredible prophecy was to be calculated: Nisan 1, 445 B.C.

At the end of 69 of these "weeks" (7 x 69 = 483 years) "Messiah the Prince" would be made known to Israel (Dan 9:25) and then "be cut off [slain] but not for Himself" (v.26). Counting 483 years of 360 days each (the Hebrew and Babylonian calendar), a total of 173,880 days from Nisan 1, 445 B.C., brings us to Sunday, April 6, 32 A.D. on that very day, now celebrated as Palm Sunday, Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a young donkey and was hailed as Messiah the Prince! (Zechariah 9:9 was fulfilled at the same time.)...............

...........April 6, 32 A.D. was, on the Hebrew calendar, 10th of Nisan. On that day the passover lamb was taken from the flock and placed under observation for four days to make certain that it was "without blemish." During the same four days, Christ, Whom John the Baptist had hailed as the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world" (Jn 1:29), was likewise on display before Israel. On the 14th of Nisan, "the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel was to kill it [the passover lamb] in the evening [between 3:00 and 6:00 P.M.]" (Ex 12:3-6). It was during that precise time period that Jesus died on the cross!'''

This still leaves seven years of history under Mosaic Law focused spiritually on the nation Israel until Jesus comes again! Those remaining seven years are none other than the seven year Tribulation period. []

Compare 1 Thes 4:13-18 & 2 Thes 2:1-8 [].

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