No where in the Bible do we get a better picture of God's overall plan
than in the book of Daniel.
The prophecies
in this book are almost entirely about the Nation of Israel
and God's plan for them as a nation, but we need to understand them
if
we are to have an accurate understanding of the rest of Biblical prophecy.
The people of Israel had constantly sinned and disobeyed
God in spite of many warnings
by the prophets. God eventually punished them by allowing the Babylonians
to conquer themand take many of them captive as slaves.
Daniel was a Godly young man who was taken captive by the Babylonians,
and it was
through him, and to him that
God revealed His long term plan for the future.
Firstly, God sent a strange dream to the king
of Babylon, King Nebuchadnezzer.
Nebuchadnezzer had seen a strange image in his dream. It had a head of gold, its chest and arms were
of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron,
and its feet, a mixture of iron and clay.
A stone cut without hands (by
God) struck the image on the feet of mixed iron and clay and crushed the whole statue into dust. The stone (The Messiah, Jesus), became
a great mountain and filled the whole earth.
No one could interpret the king's dream. But Daniel was called, and by God's leading
was
able to tell the king the meaning.
(a) The head of gold = The Babylonian empire.
(b) The chest and arms of silver= The Mede and Persian
Empire.
(c) The belly and thighs of bronze= The Greek Empire (under Alexander the Great).
(d) The legs of iron= The Roman Empire.
(e)
The feet of iron and clay= (still yet to be fulfilled,
but very likely a revived Roman power, but without the cohesion of the former
Rome).
see Daniel chapter 2 for details.
Daniel was told the names of these world powers, Babylon, Medes and Persian's,
and Greek's, but Rome was not named,
(most likely because that nation did not yet exist or have a name).
Space limitation will
not permit a detailed look at all the prophecy given to Daniel about
these kingdoms, but history confirms the accuracy of these
prophecies already fulfilled.
Some time later, Daniel was deeply concerned for the future of his people Israel.
While praying
to God and confessing the sins of his people, and asking God
to forgive them, he said,
"O Lord according to
all Your righteousness, I pray, let Your anger and Your fury be turned away from Your City Jerusalem, Your holy mountain; because
of our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers," (Daniel 9:16).
God responded to Daniel's prayer by giving him a detailed prophecy
of Israel's future.
This prophecy is often called the "Seventy weeks" prophecy, but more accurately should be called the "Seventy
Sevens".
"Seventy 'sevens' are decreed for your people and your holy city. . . ."
(Daniel 9:24, NIV).
The meaning being
70 x 7=490 (years).
If the people of Israel had understood this prophecy, they would have known the exact time
when the Messiah
(Jesus) would come.
The prophecy is very detailed and accurate.
The angel Gabriel, (the same angel who delivered the message
to the virgin Mary regarding the
birth of Jesus), was sent to Daniel with the following message. (see Daniel chapter 9:22-27)
"O
Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill to understand. At the beginning of your supplications the command went out, and I
have come to tell you, for you are greatly beloved; therefore consider the matter, and understand the vision:
'Seventy weeks[sevens] are determined For your people [Israel] and for your holy city[Jerusalem] To finish the transgression, To make an end of
sins, To make reconciliation for iniquity. To bring in everlasting righteousness, To seal up vision and prophecy,
And
to anoint the Most Holy. [Messiah, Jesus]
Know therefore and understand, That from the going forth of the command
To restore and build Jerusalem Until
Messiah the Prince,
There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks;"
[49 years + 434 years = 483 years, on a Biblical calendar]
483
x 360 = 173,880 days (Fulfilled to the very day).
This is not to be confused with the command to build the temple, which was
given by Cyrus.
The decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem was given by King Artaxerxes to Nehemiah
(see Nehemiah chapters 1-2)
Then
the angel added,
"The streets shall be built again, and the wall, Even in troublesome times."
The walls and city of Jerusalem were
rebuilt during the first 49 years, and this was fulfilled
in detail when their enemies opposed Nehemiah while the Jews were rebuilding
Jerusalem.
(see Nehemiah chapter 4)
After the 49 years, followed the 434 years (using the Biblical calendar).
This was fulfilled
to the very day Jesus rode into Jerusalem and presented Himself
as Messiah, King, the Son of David (we celebrate it as Palm Sunday).
(see
Matthew chapter 21).
In Sir Robert Anderson's carefully researched book "The Coming Prince", pages 53-54, (by the calendar we
understand), the decree to rebuild Jerusalem was given 14th, March, 445 B.C. and the triumphal entry by Jesus into Jerusalem was on
6th, April, 32 A.D. = 173,880 days. (Exactly as prophesied).
"And After the sixty-two weeks [434 years] Messiah shall be cut
off, but not for Himself;"
[Painfully fulfilled by Jesus on the cross as He died for our sins and the sins of all
who will believe
in, and trust Him as their Saviour.]
"And the people of the prince who is to come Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary,"[temple]
This
was fulfilled by the armies of Rome 70 AD just as Jesus Himself also predicted.
As Jesus wept over Jerusalem's rejection
of Him He said:
"If you had known, even you, especially In this your day, the things
that make for your peace!
But now they are
hidden from your eyes. "For the days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close
you in on every side,
and level you, and your children within you to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because
you did not know the hour of your visitation."
(Luke 19:42-44)
Matthew 23:38-39 adds: "Your house [city] is left to you
desolate; [deserted]"for I say to you,
you shall see Me no more till you say "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!' "
But
there is still more in Gabriel's message. There is still seven years missing from the
70 x 7 prophecy. We have seen
the 483 years fulfilled, but there were 490 years total.
God has temporarily set the Nation of Israel aside because they
rejected Jesus, their Messiah, and
"Desolations are determined".
"The end of it shall be with a flood, And till the end
of the war [probably
Israel's war (rejection) against their Messiah, Jesus] desolations are determined."
(Daniel 9:26)
Most
of the people of Israel did not understand that the Messiah was to suffer and die for the sins of the world. They knew He would come
to conquer Israel's enemies and rule as King, and they were hoping for that from Jesus. They wanted a political deliverer who would
free them from the Romans, but Jesus had come first of all to deliver people from sin, as the
"Lamb of God who takes away the sin
of the world!" (John 1:29).
Luke records an interesting incident that happened in Nazareth. Jesus entered the
synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read from Isaiah chapter 61, (a prophecy about the Messiah). He read," 'The Spirit of
the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim
liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
To proclaim the acceptable
year of the LORD.' Then He closed the book, and gave it back
to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue
were fixed on Him." (Luke 4:18-20).
Jesus had not read all of that prophecy. He stopped short of a lengthy description
of the Millennium, when Israel will be completely restored and freed from their enemies
(see the Millennium page).
I suspect the people
would have accepted Jesus if He had come to deliver them from the Romans and set up the Millennial Kingdom. But first He must fulfill
the prophecy found in
Isaiah chapter 53.
That too is lengthy, so I will only include the highlights here,
but I encourage the
reader to read the complete chapter.
"He is despised and rejected by men, . . . He was despised and we did not esteem Him,
Surely
He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God and afflicted.
But He was wounded
for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we
are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned every one, to his own way;
And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity
of us all. . . . He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, . . .
He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions
of My people He was stricken. And they made His grave with the wicked- . . He had done no violence,
Nor was any deceit
in His mouth. Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; . . .
You [God] make His soul an offering for sin, . . . My righteous Servant
shall justify many,
For He shall bear their iniquities, . . And He bore the sin of many,
And made intercession for the transgressors.".
Now
back to Daniel's 70 sevens prophecy!
Gabriel's message goes on to describe the last 7 years of the 490
year prophecy. The covenant Israel will make with Antichrist, and the "abomination of desolation" referred to also in the
New
Testament by Jesus Himself,
"Therefore when you see the 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet,
standing in
the holy place" (whoever reads, let him understand"), (Matthew 24:15).
The apostle Paul put this event in clear terms,
"the man
of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped,
so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God."
(2 Thessalonians 2:3-4).
Israel rejected their Messiah,
Jesus. But when Antichrist comes they will initially be deceived by him. Jesus said: "I have come in My Father's name, and you do
not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, Him you will receive."
(John 5:43).
It is clear from Daniel's "70 sevens"
prophecy that the last seven years
is divided into two halves.
"Then he [Antichrist] shall confirm a covenant with many for one
week [seven years]
But in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations
shall be one who makes desolate," (Daniel 9:27).
"And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination of
desolation
is set up, there shall be one thousand two hundred and ninety days." (Daniel 12:11).
That =43 x 30 day months. The
Hebrew luna calendar adds an extra month every 2 or 3 years
(Adar II), to synchronize the Luna year with the seasons, so their
festivals occur
in the proper seasons (spring and autumn),
so with that in mind 1290 days could = exactly 3
1/2 years.
In Revelation it is also recorded that the Beast (Antichrist) after being mortally wounded and miraculously
healed "he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies,
and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months."
(Revelation
13:5).
Some have tried to "force fit" the time when Antiochus IV defiled the Temple
by the sacrifice of pigs on the alter,
leading to the Maccabees revolt, to be the fulfillment
of Daniel's "abomination of desolation" prophecy.
However this is not
possible, as both Jesus and the apostle Paul, (as we have already seen, above), both spoke of the abomination of desolation
as yet future,
and the Antiochus IV incident occurred more than 100 years before the time of Christ on earth.
So the
abomination of desolation is still in the future.
Both Daniel and Revelation, also use the term, Time, Times, and half a
time.
Meaning, one time (1 year), + 2 times, (+ 2 years), plus 1/2 a time, (+1/2 a year) = 3 1/2 years.
"The women [who gave
birth to the Child, (Jesus), is the nation of Israel.
(see Revelation 12:1-6)]
was given two wings of a great eagle,
that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where
she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence
of the serpent.
[the Satan empowered Antichrist] (Revelation 12:14).
Three and one half years (3 1/2 years) into the
last 7 years, in The Great Tribulation, when the Antichrist seats himself in the temple in Jerusalem, the spiritual eyes
of the nation of Israel will be opened and they will realize they have been deceived.
You may be thinking,"but there is
no Jewish temple there now!" That is true!
But there are plans to build a new temple. The priests are being trained, and that too
is remarkable evidence of God preparing to fulfill His plan, because it is only since the discovery
of DNA that it is humanly
possible to determine who among the Jewish people are from
the tribe of Levi.
Only they can Biblically be temple priests.
Recently
reported in Jerusalem Post,
"Temple-ready altar dedicated on last day of Hanukkah . . . "
"On the last day of Hanukkah [Dec 10th,
2018] - which literally means 'dedication' - a new altar built in accordance with all the Jewish laws pertaining to the Temple vessels
and infrastructure was unveiled and nominally dedicated for use in the yet-to-be Third Temple by several Temple activist groups."
One
of the difficult to answer questions is regarding the temple sacrifice.
Jesus Christ is "The Lamb of God who
takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29).
Why would the nation of Israel still need to perform the temple sacrifice of the Old
Testament?
We should be clear that the temple sacrifice never did satisfy God's requirements
to forgive sin.
It was only symbolic of the coming Messiah (Lamb of God), Jesus Christ.
"And every priest stands ministering daily and
offering repeatedly the same sacrifices,
which can never take away sins. But this Man, [Jesus], after He had offered
one sacrifice [of
Himself] for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God,"
(Hebrews 10:11-12).
The
church celebrates Holy Communion, (The Lord's Supper), in memorial of Christ's sacrifice for us.
Jesus told us to "do this in
remembrance of Me" (Luke 22:19), But only, till He comes
"For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim
the Lord's death
till He comes."
(1 Corinthians 11:26).
The Lord's Supper is a temporary memorial celebration givento the church only.
But it seems evident from Scripture that the temple sacrifice will replace the Lord's Supper when the church departs. But
that too will only be a memorial of the death of The Lamb of God, who took away the sin of the world. There will be many children
born during the Millennium who will need to be reminded of what Christ has done.
The Jewish Temple existed for more reasons than
for animal sacrifice. It represented the very presence of God. Surely when Jesus returns it will be His right to be seated there
during the Millennium.
In fact there will be a glorious new temple built by Messiah Jesus Himself
during the Millennium!
"Behold,
the Man whose name is the BRANCH! . . . He shall build the temple of the LORD;
Yes, He shall build the temple of the LORD. He shall
bear the glory,
And He shall sit and rule on His throne; So He shall be a priest on His throne,"
(Zechariah 6: 12-13)
The Temple
was also used for special celebrations including the Feast of Harvest, offering
to God the first fruits of the harvest (Exodus
23:16 +19 and Deuteronomy 26:2).
But there will be no Temple in the New Heavens and Earth after the Millennium.
(Revelations
21:22)
It may be possible for the present Mosque to remain where it is in Jerusalem during the Great Tribulation, and the
new Temple built on its original site leaving out the Temple court. An interesting prophecy in Revelation suggests just that."Rise
and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there. But leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do
not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles. And they will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months." (Revelation
11:1-2).
More could be written regarding Israel and the "time of Jacob's trouble", (Jeremiah 30:7),
(The 7
year Great Tribulation), but space will not permit.
The Nation of Israel will turn to the Lord and their Messiah, Jesus, during
that time.
The Antichrist and the false prophet will be defeated by Jesus Christ the Messiah,
and He will usher in the 1000 year
Millennium reign of world wide peace.
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