Transcription
All right, what is the prophecy? Let me first give you the context, because here you're going to get blown away. We're going to read Daniel 9, verse two. "In the first year of his reign, I Daniel—watch here, guys, be blown away—I Daniel understood by the books the number of the years specified by the word of the Lord Jehovah." I understood from the timeline that Jehovah revealed through—who—Jeremiah the prophet, wow—that he would accomplish 70 years in the desolations of Jerusalem. Let me show you the prophecy in Jeremiah where God, through Jeremiah, announced that the Jews would go into Babylonian captivity for 70 years. Jeremiah 25:1, here it is from Jeremiah: "And this whole land, meaning Jerusalem, shall be a desolation and astonishment, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon 70 years. After 70 years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform my good word toward you and cause you to return to this place."
Okay, now guys, if you're paying attention, this is where you're going to get blown away. God now answers Daniel. The answer starts in verse 20. He wants to know: Seven years are up, because Jeremiah is a true prophet and your words are true, you're going to release us now—that we are going to be released. What's next? What should we expect? What's going to happen to us now? God sends—who sends—Gabriel with the answer. Are we now ready for the answer? Remember Jeremiah said 70 years, so God is thinking, speaking in terms of years. Okay, keep that in mind. Are you ready? Yes. "While I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, reached me about the time of the evening offering and informed me and talked with me and said, 'Oh Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill to understand.'" So now I'm going to help you understand God's timetable. Remember the prophecy of Jeremiah? It was 70 years. So remember, think 70, think years. So now notice how God is amazing. He's now going to tell Daniel that God has decreed a period of time, and in this time God is going to accomplish the following: "At the beginning of your supplication the command went out, and I've come to tell you, for you are greatly beloved, Daniel. God loves you so much that the moment you pray, immediately he answers you. Consider the matter, understand the vision. 70 weeks are determined." Now here, weeks doesn't mean days that are 24 hours; it means 70 weeks of years. Now how many days in each week? Seven. So here, because he's thinking in terms of 70 years, now it's 70 weeks, each week has seven days, so it's not a week of days, a week of years. So 70 times seven comes out to 490 years. So God is telling Daniel, "I have a 490-year program, timetable, where I'm going to accomplish the following." So God, what are you going to accomplish in that 70 times 7?
"I have determined 490 years for your people and for your holy city," that's Jerusalem, "to finish transgression. Within 490 years, I'm going to stop sinning. We're going to bring an end to transgression during that period. We're going to make reconciliation for iniquity—your sins that have separated you—I will reconcile you during the 490-year period. And during that period, I will bring in everlasting righteousness, and I'm going to seal up vision and prophecy and anoint the most holy." Now what does it mean, "seal up vision and prophecy"? During the 490 years, the prophecies will be sealed because they'll be fulfilled. So God is promising in these 490 years the prophecies and the visions—your visions, your prophecies and the others—will be fulfilled, will be complete. And that means now that it's fulfilled, now that it's actualized, now that it's come to pass, it's been sealed, sealed up because it's done. You understand what it means. When will God accomplish all that? In this 490 years. So what's going to happen now? 25 to 27. "Know therefore and understand that from the going forth of the command to restore and rebuild Jerusalem," he's saying count the years when the command goes out, Jerusalem will be rebuilt, because during this time it was destroyed by the Babylonians and it was left in ruins. "When the decree, the orders given, go back and build Jerusalem, until mashiach nagid, Messiah the prince." So count the years when the decree goes out to build Jerusalem, count the years for the Messiah to show up, because from the time of the decree to the time he appears it's going to take 483 years. How do I know? "There shall be seven sevens, 7 times 7 is 49 years, and 62 sevens, 62 weeks, so 62 * 7, 434 years. 7 times 7, 49 years, for combined 483 years." So God just gave you the timetable, guys. It's going to take 483 years from the decree to build Jerusalem for Messiah to show up. So now what's our duty? Our duty is to discover what decree and when was that decree issued. So it all comes down to finding the decree, because once we know when the decree was made, we now count the years, count the years—that's when Messiah will show up. But wait, there's one more seven left, right? So 490 years, but here only mentions 483 years, because here's what's going to happen. Okay, now Messiah shows up. "There shall be seven weeks and 62 weeks. During that time the street shall be built again and the wall, even in troublesome times," meaning this will take place when the Jews are still experiencing troubles and oppression; they won't be doing it in a state of peace. Now watch here, guys. So now after the 62 weeks—remember this is including the 49 years, the seven weeks, the 7 times 7—after 483 years, "Messiah shall be cut off." The word, the verb "cut off" means to be killed violently, but not for himself. He won't be cut off because of something he did deserving to be put to death. After he shows up, they will then cut him off, kill him, put him to a violent death, but not for himself, meaning he's not dying for himself, for any crime he committed. Then what will happen? What will happen, guys? Get blown away. So once the Messiah is cut off, then the people of the ruler, the nagid, the prince, he will come, destroy the city and the sanctuary, meaning the second temple will then be destroyed and Jerusalem will be destroyed. Is it a coincidence the only man to claim to be the Messiah who was killed violently is Jesus? And is it a coincidence after Jesus the temple was destroyed a second time and the city destroyed a second time, just like this prophecy uttered? Can—now watch here, though—watch here now. Remember there's still one more seven years because it's a total 490 years, but this is taking place within 483 years. So God, what about this final seven years? "Watch the end of it shall be with a flood until the end of the war. Desolations are once Messiah's killed, then the temple, sanctuary is destroyed, then the city's destroyed a second time, then there'll be wars, desolations that will come like a flood; they'll be flooded with wars and desolations." Now watch that: "After the wars, desolation that come like a flood, then the final seven years, and he, the ruler, shall confirm a covenant with many for a week." There it is, the final seven years, for seven years. "But in the middle of the seven, that week of years, he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering, and on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate." Then the one who will make desolate the city and the sanctuary, he'll appear during that week of years, the final seven, completing the 490 years, "even until the consummation which is determined is poured out on the desolate." Now some of the scholars believe that last week of your seven years coincides with the rise of the Antichrist before Jesus's physical, bodily return. Now let me tell you my studied opinion: That's wrong. I used to think that, but now I know that's not what it's referring to. What does that final seven years refer to? A week of years, the ruler will confirm a covenant. You remember Daniel 9:11-13, when God brought the curses, the punishments, the destruction of the Mosaic Covenant, he confirmed the Covenant, right? How did God confirm the Covenant that he made through Moses? When he brought the curses, the punishments, the destruction that God warned them in the law of Moses if they failed to obey. How was that a confirmation of the Covenant? What did God say? God said, said, "If you break Covenant, I will then banish you from the land, bring your enemies to ravish you, destroy the city and the temple." So when they did break Covenant and he brought the curses, that means he confirmed the threats and the punishments of the Covenant, showing that God is faithful to do what he says in blessing and judging. So now, in light of that, let me read Daniel 9:27. Let me blow you away with how this was already fulfilled. "Then he, the ruler, shall confirm a covenant," notice the word "confirm" again, "confirm a covenant with many for one week," that means seven years, "but then it says in the middle of the week, in the middle of the seven years, he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering." He will stop all sacrifices. Are you aware from 66 to 73 AD the Jewish War took place where the Jews rebelled against the Romans and the Romans attacked Jerusalem from 66 to 73 AD, seven years? And are you aware in the middle of the seven years the temple was destroyed, 70 AD, stopping sacrifices, exactly what Daniel 9:27 said. 66-73 AD, the Romans come up to destroy Jerusalem and the temple because of their sin and rejecting the Messiah, rejecting his Covenant, rejecting the prophets, thereby bringing the destruction, the punishment and the wrath of God that God warned them he would bring if they rejected the Covenant and the prophets who said they must believe in his Messiah. And in the middle of the seven years the temple is destroyed at the midpoint, because 70 is in the middle of 66-73, 70 is the midpoint, thereby putting an end to sacrifices like Daniel's 9:27 said. So it has nothing to do with the Antichrist at the end and Jesus's second coming. All of this is about the events leading to the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple a second time, which ended in 73 AD, to the word, to a tee, perfect fulfillment.